Love and Basketball
by chocolatexpresso
Summary: Peyton reflects on her past relationships. And, the one she misses the most. Her relationship with Nathan. PATHAN.
1. Chapter 1

Peyton Sawyer sat on the floor of her red bedroom, as luscious, blonde curls cascaded her face. Paper covering the ground, a glance of hard wood floor was visible. Art was her life, and anyone important to her knew that. So, why didn't **he** know that. She stared at the sketches, so many atleast fifty surrounding her body.

She was wearing light blue boxers and a white cami, it was a hot, summer night and surprisingly her hair hadn't begun to frizz. She looked at the drawings, some of Brooke, Haley, most of her, and some of **him. ** He didn't know that he toiled with her feelings, that even though she wouldn't show him, he made her vulnerable. He made her cry at night, and to this very day, she's jealous of one of her best friends. That same friend had him; she won him. He had never really loved her, that's the way she saw it. He didn't know how much she needed him. How much she wanted him. How much she would do anything to be held in his arms one last time. To laugh with him. Or yell at him. She would love to spend some time with him. Alone. Without the company of their friends, or the basketball team and the cheerleaders forced in to one room while drinking beers and grinding along to the newest 50 Cent record. She wanted him to smile at her again. Peyton needed Nathan to look at her again. She needed him to look at her like he loved her again.


	2. Chapter 2

Peyton smiled as she saw a picture laying in front o her on the floor. It was a classroom and a teacher in the front of the room was writing on the board: _P. Sawyer. B. Davis. N. Scott. T. Smith. _Peyton laughed as she remembered that day fondly.

_First day of ninth grade at Tree Hill High. _

_Peyton and Brooke walked side by side as they walked down the C-Hall. Peyton looked at every door, looking for the number C-243. She had been there with Brook first period and already forgot where it was. _

_Peyton agitatedly, "Brooke, you could help me look for it. "_

_Brooke smirked," Well...I'm not the one who got us here." _

_Peyton turned to her best friend and smirked," I'm not the one who got us 20 minutes late to class.." _

_Brooke laughed, " I'm not the one who was flirting with her math teacher.." _

_Peyton laughed as the girls continued to walk down the hallway. "I wasn't flirting with him..I was just..kissing his ass. "_

_Brooke giggled and clapped her hands together," Oooh. Pey. Look. Two hundred and thirty four. Who found it? Um..I did."  
_

_Peyton stared at the brunette with her mouth slightly open, " Don't talk to me, Brooke."_

_Brooke smiled as she walked through the door with her lime green backpack slung over one shoulder. _

_Brooke walked over to the teacher, "Mrs. Lawler. Hey! You know, I'm here with my friend Peyton, and I don't understand why." _

_Miss. Lawler looked up from her newspaper, "You girls came half an hour late to class." _

_Brooke looked at Peyton for support, who simply took a seat in the back. _

_Brooke softly, "Yeah. I think I got it. Thanks." _

_Brooke rolled her eyes as she made her way to the back. _

_Brooke, " Grouch." _

_Peyton smiled," Well..You were definitely trying to pull a Brooke Davis." _

_Brooke shrugged as she rummaged through her backpack, " Pey. I found the best nail polish….Wait. One minute. I so put it in the outer pocket." _

_Peyton shook her head as she opened up her Biology textbook. She heard an incredibly obnoxious voice coming from the hallway and couldn't help but wonder who owned it. _

"_Dude. Room 234..its not that hard." _

"_Nate. Come on. We have basketball tryouts. How are we supposed to make the team?" _

"_Calm down, Tim. I'll just get my dad to call. It'll be alright." _

_Miss. Lawler stood in her seat and walked towards the door. _

_Miss Lawler loudly, "Ah..Mr. Scott. And, Mr. Smith. Meet Miss. Sawyer and Miss. Davis. " _

_Brooke grinned widely at Peyton who simply shook her head. _

_A tall boy walked through the door along with a much shorter one. _

_They were both attractive, but the taller boy was simply gorgeous. Deep blue eyes and hair the color of a raven. _

_Miss. Lawler's voice filled the room again, "Detention on the first day is never a good thing, guys. But, neither is being late or cutting class. Sit down and find something to occupy yourselves, boys."  
_

_Tim smiled as he laid eyes on the two girls sitting in the back, he nodded at Nathan who was also eying the two. _

_Tim softly, "They can occupy me for as long as they want. "_

_Nathan laughed as he walked towards the girls. _

_Brooke smiled at the two and held her hand out to Nathan. _

_Brooke slowly, " Brooke Davis." _

_Nathan smiled as he took her hand, "Nathan Scott. And, he's Tim."_

_Tim looked at Brooke, " Tim Smith, baby. But, you can call me T-"_

_Nathan rolled his eyes, " You can call him Tim." _

_Tim, "And, what's your name, Blondie?" _

_Peyton looked up from her book and found Nathan Scott staring right at her, their eyes locked for a while, and his smile turned to a slight smirk. She looked away and towards Tim. _

_Peyton, "Peyton."_

_Tim smiled, "Well, nice to meet you, Peyton. Nate and I are very glad to meet both of you fine ladies." _

_Brooke smiled at him. He was adorable and cute in an odd way. _

_Brooke, " Well…Peyton being the loser she is, is going to do her homework. I on the other hand say we make this loserfest something slightly more enjoyable." _

"_I on the other hand, say you do your homework, Miss. Davis. I need two of you to run down to the supply room and make copies. Um..Mr. Scott, pick someone to accompany you." _

_Nathan looked at the three of them, both Tim and Brooke looked at him eagerly. Tim probably assumed that he was going to go with him, and Brooke was seductively grinning at him. _

_Nathan smiled, "Peyton." _

_Peyton looked up slightly alarmed, she began rubbing her bare shoulder. Her navy blue beater was something she wouldn't of worn unless Brooke was over, and somehow she had convinced Peyton to wear it. The khaki pleated, extremely short mini skirt flapped as she walked towards the door and Nathan followed, checking out her lanky body. She grabbed the papers and began walking towards the door. He stopped her by grabbing on to her hand and she turned around quickly. _

_Peyton stared at him slightly uncomfortably, "Can I help you?" _

_Nathan held on to her hand a little more firmly and began walking at the same pace. _

_Nathan smirked, " You were running away from me." _

_Peyton smiled at him as he continued to hold her hand as they walked to the copy room and back from it. _

_An hour later Peyton walked out of C-234 and stopped in her tracks when she heard a deep, masculine voice calling her name. _

"_Peyton!"_

_Peyton turned around to see Nathan running towards her, "Yeah?" _

"_You need a ride?" Nathan asked her. _

_She shook her head explaining that she was going home with Brooke. Nathan nodded and kissed her cheek softly before turning around and she smiled to herself. And, she simply couldn't stop smiling. _


	3. Chapter 3

Peyton sighed as she crawled towards her bed. She slipped under the covers and reached towards her side drawer, retrieving a sketchbook. She had shoved a bunch of loose sketches in to it one day, when she was in an organizing mood. **SOPHOMORE YEAR** was written largely on the cover. She opened it slowly and picked up the first sketch. A heart around the number **23**. She picked it up smiling slightly. She put it away quickly and turned to the next page; Peyton was sitting at a restaurant along with Nathan eating a pizza. The caption _DINNER WITHOUT THE MOVIE_, was written underneath the picture. Peyton relaxed on to her bed thinking about that night.

_School had been in session for two weeks and basketball tryouts had been occurring in the gym everyday, along with cheerleading. It was a new school year, and the four friends who had met in detention around a year ago had formed a group around themselves. And, had immediately become popular at their highschool, yet little did they know that along with the title came the territory. _

"_So..Pey, I was thinking that we should go to that party tomorrow night," Brooke stated loudly. _

"_Whose? Tim's?" Peyton said. _

_Brooke stared at her, "Um. Yes. Who else's?" _

_Peyton shrugged," Whatever. We'll walk from my house at 7." _

_Brooke laughed, "I'm not walking in heels. But, you get your permit this summer. So..we can drive after that." _

_Peyton laughed as she reached down on the floor to grab her pompoms, "Brooke, its still September."_

_Brooke glared at her, "P. Sawyer, you're a dream crusher." _

"_P. Sawyer, huh?" _

_Peyton turned around to see a six foot, Nathan Scott towering above her. _

"_Um, I can only call her that," Brooke stated nonchalantly. _

_Nathan rolled his eyes, "Whatever. Peyton, can I talk to you?"  
_

"_You are talking to her, Nathan," Brooke smirked. _

"_Can I talk to you alone, Peyton?" Nathan said exasperatedly. _

"_Uh..Yeah.." Peyton smiled at Brooke before following Nathan outside of the gym. _

"_Scott! Where the hell do you think you're going?" Whitey exclaimed across the gym. _

"_Take five, Whitey!" Nathan laughed. _

_Nathan stopped and leaned against a navy blue locker, " Hey." _

_Peyton laughed as her right hand settled on her hip, " Hey. Okay. So, what's up?" _

_Nathan turned to her and scratched his head," Do you wanna' go out tonight? Like, the movies. Or dinner. Or like both?" _

_Peyton sighed exagerratingly, " Well, I have nothing else to do.." _

_Nathan smiled at her, " Well..I guess I could ask Theresa or something.." _

_Peyton shrugged, "I'll see if Tim wants to come over then." _

_Nathan laughed, " So, I'll pick you up at 7." _

_Peyton nodded, "You drive?" _

_Nathan smiled, " Perks of having a dad who owns a car dealership. And, well a permit."_

_Peyton smiled, " Yeah. So..Seven?" _

_Nathan nodded as he took her hand in his and watched her expression turn to an even larger smile. _

_They walked towards the gym and stopped in their tracks as they saw all the people in the gym staring at them. _

_Nathan smiled awkwardly, " This is weird." _

_Peyton nodded, " Um. Yeah." _

_Peyton looked up at him smiling, " Later." _

_Nathan however pulled her closer to him, and brought his hand to her face. Surprising her as he brought his mouth towards hers and kissed her softly on the lips, deepening it slightly before hearing a shrill whistle near his ear. _

" _Suicides, Scott. NOW!" Whitey said with a satisfied smile on his face. _

_Nathan sighed before running towards the center of the court, and Peyton stood in her spot, still shocked. She watched as Brooke waved at her and walked over slowly. _

" _Oh my god, Peyton! When did that happen?" a jealous Theresa asked. _

_Peyton shrugged with a smile on her face, " I don't know."_

_Brooke paced around Peyton's bedroom. _

"_You have nothing to wear, Peyton!" Brooke screamed. _

"_Sorry," Peyton said blankly. _

"_Well, it's a good think I bought extra clothes tonight, huh?" Brooke said with a devious smile on her face. _

"_What?" Peyton said. _

"_One sec-Ah! Found it!" Brooke smiled as she set the outfit out on the bed. _

"_What is that?" Peyton said softly. _

"_A Missoni halter and denim skirt, that you're about to get your skinny ass in to. You know, I haven't even worn that top yet. You're lucky I'm your best friend, P. Sawyer," Brooke said sweetly. _

_Peyton rolled her eyes as she slipped the outfit on and threw her hands in the air, "Happy?" _

_Brooke smirked, "Not as happy as Nathan will be when he takes it off." _

_Peyton laughed as she slapped Brooke's arm, "It's our first date," _

_Brooke smirked once again, " He kissed you when he asked you out, which was so sweet by the way, he probably thinks he's getting a blow j-"_

_A doorbell rang and interrupted Brooke. _

_Brooke smiled giddily, " I'll get it." _

_Brooke skipped down the stairs and opened the door._

"_Hello, Mr. Scott," Brooke said happily. _

"_Brooke?" Nathan questioned. _

"_She's coming. God, don't sound so happy to see me. Peyt!" Brooke screamed up the stairs. _

"_Coming," Peyton said as she walked down the stairs. _

_Nathan smiled as he saw Peyton walking down the stairs in the dark purple, extremely low cut halter, and very short denim mini skirt. _

"_Hey," Peyton said to Nathan nonchalantly. _

"_Uh..Hey. You look…really good," Nathan said. _

_Brooke smiled, " Okay. See you guys later." _

_Brooke slammed the door on the two of them and Peyton laughed. _

"_Is she always over?" Nathan questioned. _

_Peyton nodded, "She's pretty much the only person who is ever home with me." _

_Nathan looked at her curiously, "What about your mom? Or dad?" _

_Peyton avoided his gaze as she stepped in to the passenger seat of his car, " My mom died when I was younger. And, my dad is on business trips a lot. He works on a boat. He makes a good amount of money, but in order to that, he has to go away. For like weeks at a time. Sometimes months. "_

_Nathan nodded slowly as he backed out of her driveway," ..Sorry." _

_Peyton shook her head, "Don't be." _

_Nathan softly," So, where do you wanna' go for dinner?" _

_Peyton shrugged, " I don't care." _

_Nathan laughed," Is pizza, okay? Because I'm mad hungry." _

_Peyton smiled as they entered the restaurant and ordered a large pepporoni with onions. And, they talked for hours. About everything, her mom, and his dad, her lonely childhood, and Brooke, and his slightly abusive childhood, and Tim. And, they laughed. And, she smiled. She smiled more than she could ever remember. She blushed as well, when he was giving her a compliment, or when he slipped his hand on her bare thigh. _

_He drove her home and turned off the car as he sat in her driveway. _

"_So, sorry that we missed our movie," Nathan said. _

"_Don't be. I was glad we got to talk, you know. Get to know each other a bit," Peyton said looking at him. _

_Nathan nodded before abruptly placing his lips on hers, and cupping her face in his hands. She now knew how to react and unbuckled her seatbelt, lessening the space between them. She pulled away grinning and closed the car door. _

"_Brooke's waiting," she said before closing the car door. _

"_Wait, Peyton. Um..Are you going to Tim's tomorrow night?" Nathan said. _

_Peyton nodded. _

"_I'm going early, otherwise I'd offer you a ride. So, I'll see you there?" Nathan asked. _

_Peyton smirked, " If you're lucky." _

Peyton examined the sketch again, she remembered their first date well, and laughed at herself for remembering every bit of it. But, she did. And, she did because at that time, a couple years ago, she was unknowingly falling in love with him.


	4. Chapter 4

Peyton woke up to the ringing of her telephone. She groaned as she reached over.

"Hello?" Peyton said groggily.

"Peyton! Hey. Listen, I have a question," Haley said happily.

"Haley, its like..8 in the morning. On a Saturday," Peyton said slightly annoyed.

"Two minutes of your time. I promise," Haley said.

"Okay. Your two minutes starts now," Peyton said with a hint of aggravation in her voice.

"Okay. Well, Nathan's birthday is coming up. And, well..I told him I'd get him an amazing gift. And, I asked him what the best gift he ever got was, and he told me he couldn't tell me. That it was personal. I just..I need to know so bad. I want to know, I want to top it," Haley said enthusiastically.

Peyton swallowed slowly. She knew the answer to this question, and she also knew she couldn't help Haley.

"Um..I do know, Hales. But, if Nathan said it was personal, then I guess I shouldn't say anything," Peyton said softly.

"Okay, Peyt. I respect that. So. Later?" Haley said, her voice notably less happy.

"Um. Listen, Hales. I'm sorry, its just. Not my place. I gu-Wait.." Peyton said.

"No. Forget it. Bye," Haley said as she hung up the phone.

Peyton sighed as she turned the phone off and rolled over on her side. Haley was definitely overreacting, she simply couldn't tell her. It was something that she never thought Nathan would talk about with Haley, even if he hadn't intended for her to find out.

_Peyton smiled as she stepped out of Nathan's car and towards the beach house. _

_Nathan, as he stepped out of the car, "So, why are we here?" _

"_Well, my dad's home tonight. And, there's nowhere else to go," Peyton said simply as she walked towards the door. _

_Nathan reached for the key to his beach house as Peyton shivered and rubbed her shoulders with her hands. _

_Nathan smirked, " You know, I could do that for you." _

_Peyton rolled her eyes laughing, " Or you could open the damn door." _

_Nathan shrugged, " Your loss, Peyton." _

_Nathan opened the door and turned the lights on. _

"_SURPRISE!"_

"_HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NATHAN!" _

_Peyton smiled as Nathan looked around the room, utterly shocked and surprised. _

"_Holy shit," he murmured before glancing at Peyton, who was laughing giddily. _

"_Did you do this?" Nathan asked her smiling. _

"_Who else would've?" Peyton asked, raising one of her eyebrows. _

_Nathan smiled as he leaned in, kissing her hard on the lips. _

"_Well, hello bestest friend and birthday boy!" Brook exclaimed happily. _

"_Hey Brooke," Nathan said calmly as he wrapped his arm around Peyton's waist as they began to walk around the room with Brooke. _

"_I'm going to go find Bradley. I heard he finally dumped Bevin's ass," Brooke said happily before searching for the tall, blonde basketball player. _

_Peyton laughed through out the night as she danced, talked, and laughed along with Brooke and Nathan. _

_A COUPLE HOURS LATER. _

_Peyton and Brooke watched as the boys played basketball outside. _

"_So, are you ready?" Brooke asked softly. _

_Peyton nodded, "Yeah. I think so."  
_

_Brooke nodded, "So, you'll call me tomorrow, right?"_

Peyton laughed, " Yeah. Definitely."  


"_So, should I send everyone packing?" Brooke questioned. _

_Peyton shrugged, smiling slightly, "Whenever you want to."  
_

_Brooke laughed as she held out a hand to help Peyton up from the steps they were sitting on and walked inside the house. _

"_EVERYONE! COPS ARE COMING! PARTIES OVER!" Brooke yelled across the room once, extremely loudly. _

_Brooke and Peyton smiled as they watched people pour out the door. _

"_Oh god, I'm good," Brooke said, smirking simultaneously. _

_Peyton laughed, and watched as the Tim and Nathan came inside. _

"_Where's everyone going?" asked Nathan. _

_Brooke shrugged, "Home. I knew P. Sawyer couldn't throw a good party."  
_

_Peyton laughed as she slapped her best friend's arm. _

"_Okay. So, Tim. I'll drive you home," Brooke said as she grabbed his arm._

"_Why can't we hang with Peyton and Nate?" Tim asked. _

"_Because…Well, because I said so," Brooke said as she glared at him, and pulled him out the door. _

_Nathan laughed, "Why was she in such a rush to leave?" _

_Peyton laughed along nervously, " I-I uh..don't know." _

_Nathan nodded, " So, you wanna' watch TV?"  
_

_Peyton shrugged, " Yeah. Okay. I'll uh..meet you upstairs." _

_Nathan nodded as he watched her go in to the bathroom. He shrugged and walked towards the bedroom he used at the beachhouse. _

_Peyton sighed as she slowly slipped out of her red mini skirt and dark grey beater. Underneath she was wearing a black lace bra and a matching pair of boyshorts. She sighed as she looked in the mirror, and played with her hair. She bit her lip nervously and opened the bathroom door. Startled to see Nathan in the kitchen grabbing a glass from a cupboard. Nathan staring at her, his jaw dropping slightly. _

_Peyton nervously," Oh god. I was going to meet you upstairs…I'll just g-go now." _

_Peyton ran up the stairs quickly and closed the door to Nathan's bedroom. She could feel tears filling her eyes. That wasn't the way it was supposed to be. She wanted to surprise him in his room, not have him surprise her in the kitchen. She sighed and she sat on his bed and wrapped hier arms around her knees. She looked up as she saw the door open and saw the, now, 6'2'' figure walk through the door. _

"_Hey," he said softly _

"_Hi," she said, not meeting his eyes. _

" _I..uh..didn't meant to scare you or anything..I was just getting some water," Nathan said, his voice still soft. _

_Peyton nodded, " Yeah. I-I just wanted it to be a surprise, you know?" _

_Nathan nodded as he walked cautiously towards the bed," O-Oh yeah. I get it." _

_Peyton nodded as she looked up at him, swallowing slowly. He eventually sat next to her on the bed and looked up at her smiling. _

" _I like it," he said with a smile. _

_Peyton looked up at him smiling, " Yeah?" _

_Nathan nodded laughing, " Hell yeah." _

_Peyton shook her head, " God. I feel like such an idiot." _

"_No. Pey, don't. I mean it. You look beautiful," Nathan said loudly. _

_Peyton looked up at him, grabbing his face in her hands, she kissed him softly. She could feel him smiling through the kiss and allowed him to deepen it, as he gently pushed her on to the bed. He pulled off his black polo shirt and his hands began to roam her body. Beginning by slowly grabbing her waist as he began to kiss her neck. His hands slipped underneath her body as he reached for the clasp of her bra, she opened her eyes slowly and looked at him, as he was still kissing her neck. _

"_Nate, i-it's my first time. C-Can we go slow?" Peyton asked softly, as if she whispered it. _

_Nathan pulled away and nodded, "Pey, we don't have to if you don't want to." _

_Peyton frowned slightly, "You don't want to?"_

"What? No. Of course I do, I just don't want to pressure you," Nathan said. 

_Peyton shook her head smiling as she reached behind her body and unclasped her bra by herself, removing it slowly and dropping it on the side of her bed. Peyton couldn't help but smile as she watched Nathan gaze at her bare chest, and a few seconds later she grabbed his face again, kissing him forcefully. _

"_You're not," Peyton said between breaths. _

_Nathan then placed his hand on her right breast and massaged it slowly causing her to moan softly. _

_He then pulled his long, khaki shorts off of his legs and pulled the sheets down, lifting Peyton's body gently, placing it under the covers. He then pulled the comforter over the two of them and looked at Peyton. His deep blue eyes penetrating her own hazel. _

"_Are you sure?" he asked out of breath. _

_Peyton nodded slowly, putting her arms around his neck as he kissed her again. _

"_Fuck," he murmured as he pulled away from her. _

"_What?" Peyton asked concerned. _

"_I-I don't have a condom," Nathan said, now flustered. _

_Peyton sighed, how had she forgotten that? _

"_Does your dad have one maybe?" Peyton asked. _

_Nathan cursed to himself as he pushed the comforter and kissed Peyton quickly before quickly walking out of his room and towards his parents. He came back shortly carrying two small plastic packages. _

_He immediately slipped under the covers, keeping one in his hand and dropping the other one on the bedside table. _

_He kissed her and his hands found her breasts again. He heard her moan loudly and slowly slipped off his black boxers. Opening the plastic packaging, and carefully slipping the condom on. _

_He placed his hands on the sides of the boyshorts and watched her expression as he slowly slipped them off of her body. _

"_Tell me if it hurts, okay?" Nathan asked softly. _

_Peyton bit her lip and nodded. _

_Nathan entered her body slowly and watched as she winced in pain. He kissed her slowly as he watched her expression change and quickened the pace of his thrusts. He knew he was about to come and knew she was ready as well as her moans grew louder and her nails began to scrape his back. He gave her one final thrust before collapsing next to her on the bed, both breathing heavily on their backs. He looked over at her and saw that her eyes were still closed, and she had a deep, purple mark on her neck. He closed his eyes as well, and felt her body now against his, and her head resting on his chest. _

"_Did you like it?" Peyton asked softly. _

_Nathan smiled to himself, " Best birthday gift ever." _


	5. Chapter 5

BY THE WAY. THIS FANFIC IS TAKING PLACE DURING THE LATTER PART OF SEASON 1.

Haley sat on the couch watching TV as she heard a door open and laughter entered the apartment.

"Dude, you were a total beast," Tim exclaimed as he closed the door shut.

Nathan laughed as he set the keys on the counter and saw Haley on the sofa.

"Hey Hales," Nathan said.

"Tim, I need to speak to Nathan. Alone," Haley said quietly.

"Um..Yeah, whatever. Nathan you should call me about tomorrow night," Tim said before leaving Nathan's apartment.

Nathan joined Haley on the sofa and grabbed the bag of chips off of the table, " What's up?"

"So, I talked to Peyton today," Haley said.

"Okay…" Nathan said as he grabbed the remote off of the couch.

"And, I asked her about your favorite present," Haley said, still looking at the TV.

Nathan froze momentarily, and looked down at Haley who was staring straight forward. _Damn, he thought._

"…Okay.." Nathan said quietly.

"And, she said she couldn't tell me," Haley said, now looking at him.

Nathan continued to watch TV and grabbed a handful of chips.

"Why, Nathan? Why couldn't she?" Haley said sadly.

Nathan turned to her, now slightly annoyed, "She just couldn't, okay? Why the hell do you care so much?"

Haley glared at him as she stood up, " I'm sorry that I care so much, Nathan. I guess it just bothers me that you could tell Peyton something like this, and you couldn't tell me…I mean, you love me, right?"

Nathan sniggered, "Yeah. Okay. So, what?"

Haley blinked back tears, "So, then why would you tell Peyton?"

Nathan now stood up, " So, you don't think I loved Peyton?"

Haley laughed, " No. I don't. If you did, you wouldn't of treated her like crap, Nathan."

"You don't know anything about the way I treated her!"

" Fine, Nathan! You obviously loved her enough for her to fall for your brother!"

"I'm out of here," Nathan mumbled as he walked towards the door.

" Nathan! Wait! Come back!" Haley yelled.

But, it was too late. He already left.

Peyton sighed as she looked at herself on the computer. Her webcam was staring right at her and she couldn't help but wonder why she had it. And, for a little bit she couldn't remember. She smirked, Nathan got it for her for Christmas, the first year they were together. He said he gave it to her because when he wasn't with her, he wanted to see her naked. But, she knew he bought it because he liked to watch her. Or, she hoped he bought it because he liked to watch her.

She turned around as she heard a knock on the door.

"Nathan?" Peyton asked curiously.

" Um, yeah. Sorry, I was driving around," Nathan lied.

Peyton shook her head smiling, " No. Its cool. Actually, I was thinking about you two seconds ago."

" Are you wet?" Nathan said smirking.

Peyton laughed as she took the book sitting on her desk and threw it in his direction.

"Well, I was thinking about my webcam."

Nathan laughed, " I wonder if anyone besides me watches it."

"Oh. So you still watch, huh?" Peyton said with a small smile.

Nathan avoided her face as he blushed slightly, " I wonder if anyone ever saw us-Never mind."

Peyton smiled, " Ever saw us having sex? Or, ever saw us fighting?"

Nathan sighed, "Was that all it was to you?"

Peyton looked up slightly alarmed, " What?"

"If you asked me that before, I may have said yes. But, now that I look back at it, we used to be good, Peyton. We…we used to have fun."

Peyton nodded as she walked towards him on the bed and sat down next to him, crossing her legs on her yellow comforter, sitting Indian style.

"We did," Peyton said softly.

" I uh..came here to thank you,"

" For what?" Peyton said as she furrowed her eyebrows.

Nathan smiled as he shook his head, " Still doing the eyebrow thing?"

Peyton smiled, " You used to like it."

"Who said I still don't?" Nathan asked grinning.

Peyton stared at him and then looked away, " So..why'd you come over?"

Nathan cleared his throat, realizing that he just made a complete fool of himself, " To thank you. For not answering Haley's question."

Peyton looked at him again and nodded, " Yeah. I um..didn't think it was my place."

Nathan nodded, " It really was though."

" What was?" Peyton asked.

Nathan leaned in and whispered in her ear, " The best gift I ever got."

Peyton looked in to his sapphire blue eyes and sighed as he leaned down to kiss her softly on the lips. She felt his hand slip under her neck and she couldn't help but succumb to his kiss. He leaned back on to the bed and let his body fall on to her long, but lean frame. He ran his hands down her sides and kissed her harder when he realized she was beginning to pull away.

He then slipped his hands underneath the waist band of her jeans and felt a push against his chest as Peyton rolled off the bed from underneath his body.

Peyton rubbed her lips together as he watched her, " I can't believe you just did that."

" Peyton, its okay. Haley and I aren't-" Nathan tried explaining.

" Haley and you aren't what, Nathan? Haley and you aren't having sex so you thought it was okay to come get some ass from me and then run back to your perfect, little nun?" Peyton asked incredibly furious.

"Peyton! It's not like that!" Nathan yelled.

" Just get the hell out of here," Peyton said softly.

Nathan stood up and wrapped his strong arms around her waist but she pushed him away harder.

" Just get the hell out, Nathan!" Peyton said angrily.

Nathan sighed before walking out of her bedroom and out of her house, and Peyton fell on to her bed crying.

_Peyton laughed as she talked on the phone with Theresa and Brooke. _

"_So, get your ass over here, P. Sawyer!" Brooke yelled happily. _

"_I can't, Brooke. Nathan's coming over," Peyton said. _

"_Isn't he out? Like partying?" Theresa asked in a catty tone. _

"_He went out with the guys," Peyton said incredibly annoyed. _

"_Sounds like he's cheating on you," Theresa said, happiness evident in her voice. _

"_Bitch! Theresa, shut up! Peyt, we're leaving! I'll call you tomorrow morning. Wake up call, at 7?" Brooke said. _

"_More like noon, Brooke," Peyton said smiling. _

" _Seven it is! Wait, what are you wearing right now?" Brooke asked. _

"_Peyton?" Nathan called up the stairs as the front door opened. _

_  
"I'm upstairs, Nate!" Peyton yelled throughout her room. _

"_That's my cue, huh? Okay, later, P." Brooke said before hanging up the phone. _

_Peyton turned around in her computer chair to see Nathan standing by the door, looking gorgeous in his letterman jacket and a black pair of baggy sweatpants. _

"_What's up, baby?" Nathan asked as he sat on the edge of Peyton's bed. _

_Peyton stood up and walked over to Nathan, still in her cheerleading uniform and stood infront of him. _

"_Oh, I've only waited at home for you, for two hours," Peyton said while smiling. _

_Nathan laughed, "Well, I can make it up, now, right?" _

_He grabbed her waist and pulled her on to his lap, and immediately began to kiss her neck. _

"_Nate," Peyton giggled. He knew exactly what spot to kiss that would drive her crazy. Her sweet spot. _

_Nathan relaxed on to the bed, pulling Peyton along with him. He eventually rolled over, so he was ontop, and kissed Peyton's lips hard. He opened his mouth and slipped his tongue inside her hers; Peyton grimaced slightly. She really wasn't up for this right now and attempted pulling away. She felt his hands slip under her skirt and begin playing with the black thong she was wearing. _

"_Nathan, stop," Peyton said softly. _

_Yet, Nathan ignored her. _

"_Nathan! Seriously, stop!" Peyton said a little louder. _

_Yet, he had now pulled the thong off of her body and had inserted his index and middle finger inside of her. _

"_Peyton…Calm down," Nathan said as he kissed her neck. _

"_How much did you drink tonight!" Peyton questioned as she struggled to pull away from his body. _

"_More than usual," Nathan said as he slipped his other hand up her shirt. _

"_NATHAN!" Peyton said, as tears began to fall down her face._

_Peyton slapped him hard across the face, leaving a red imprint on his right cheek. She gasped slightly and covered her mouth with her hand. _

_Nathan immediately leapt off of her. _

"_Bitch," he muttered. _

_Peyton sat up quickly, and wiped the tears away with the back of her hand. _

"_Nathan. Are you-" Peyton began to say. _

_Nathan shook his head angrily, as he held his cheek, "No. No. It's cool. I get it. So, us having sex was only a one night thing, right? Just for my birthday. Just a birthday present." _

_Peyton bit her lip as she felt many more, hot tears fall down her flawless cheeks. _

" _Just get out," Peyton said calmly. _

_And, Nathan obeyed walking out of the room and slamming the front door shut. Leaving Peyton to cry herself to sleep. _

_Nathan held his cell phone to his ear as he searched the halls for the gorgeous, curly-haired blonde who hadn't returned his phone calls all weekend. _

"_Peyton. I've called you all weekend. I'm sorry, okay? I'm so sorry. Just...call me back." Nathan said softly in to his phone. _

_Nathan looked over the immense amount of heads and began jogging down the hall, and then grabbing a thin arm. _

"_Brooke? Have you talked to Peyton recently?" Nathan asked her softly. _

"_Yeah. But, about what? The whole...you raping my best friend part of her Friday night? Or, you yelling at her for not having sex with you part of her Friday night?" Brooke said angrily. _

_Nathan said softly, convincing himself more so than Brooke, "I didn't rape her."  
_

"_Oh. No, of course not. But, you came close, right? She said no, goddamnit! What the hell is wrong with you? How many times did she have to tell you to stop, and did you listen once?" Brooke asked, the look on her face could only be described as pure disgust. _

_Nathan scratched his neck nervously as he began to look down the hall, "Well, do you know where she is?" _

"_Don't go near her. Don't talk to her. And, do not touch her. And, just so you know, you could go to jail for what you did. I hope you're proud of yourself," Brooke said before walking away from him. _

_Nathan sighed as he walked towards her locker and saw her unloading her books, he adjusted his backpack straps and began to walk towards her. _

"_Hey," Nathan said softly. _

_Peyton looked at him and rolled her eyes subtly before looking back in to her locker. _

_Nathan walked closer to her until he was leaning against the locker next to hers. _

"_I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry, Pey. I mean it, okay?" Nathan whispered. _

_Peyton shook her head as she snarled, "Sorry for what? Sexually or verbally abusing me?" _

_Nathan closed his eyes slowly and sighed, "Both, okay? I-I shouldn't have touched you like that if you didn't want, and I should have never said those things to you. I was so fucking drunk."_

"And you drove to my house?" Peyton asked, still not looking at him. 

_Nathan stared at her before shoving his hands in his hoodie _

_pocket._

_Peyton laughed cynically, "Oh, right. You thought you'd be staying the night. I forgot. Sorry." _

"_I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Just forgive me, okay?" Nathan pleaded, his voice genuine and his eyes soft. _

_Peyton closed her locker door and looked at him, restraining herself from losing herself in his deep, blue eyes. _

"_Fine. You're forgiven. But, just remember every time you touch me, it'll never feel the same. Ever again," Peyton said with a slight smirk as she left Nathan alone. _


	6. Chapter 6

Haley walked in to Peyton's room solemnly, fifteen minutes after Nathan left.

"Peyton? The door was open! And, I so brought brown-Oh my god, Peyt! What happened?" Hailey asked concerned.

Peyton looked up, her curls sticking to her wet face as her mascara ran, "Hailey? What're you doing here?"

Haley smiled softly, "I came here to talk. But, if it's a bad time."

Peyton smiled softly, "Talking sounds good right now."

"Good," Haley said happily as she opened a container and passed Peyton a brownie.

She walked over to Peyton's stereo and pressed play, "Fall Out Boy, Peyton? Isn't that a bit too cliché for you?"

Peyton shrugged as she wiped her tears, "Whatever. So, what's up?"

Haley sighed, "Well, did you ever love Nathan?"

"What?" Peyton asked, suddenly alarmed.

Haley softly, "Did you ever love him, Peyton?"

Peyton sighed, "At one time. I did. I loved him for awhile."

Haley nodded, "How long?"

Peyton sighed, "One year. Maybe, one year and a half. I was confused for a couple months. And, the other half a year, I just-I needed someone. No mom. No dad most of the time. Brooke was at her partying peak. And, Nathan was there. Even if it was just for sex. Nathan was there. Sorry, like..A year and a half."

_Nathan smiled as he scored the winning basket of the game. Adrenaline pumped through his veins, and Tim had immediately jumped on to him. He smiled and couldn't help but laugh as he saw a couple little kids jumping up and down in the bleachers. Tim finally pulled away from him, and Nathan watched as the cheerleaders ran towards the center of the court. Brooke waved her pompoms and giggled as Bevin and Bradley already began to makeout. Even Tim and Theresa were hugging, and there he was. Alone. Peyton stood on the sidelines, packing her pompoms in to her cheerleading bag and jumped slightly as she felt a warm arm around her waist. _

"_Hey!" Nathan said happily as he leaned in to kiss her, but she quickly moved her head, causing his lips to land on her smooth cheek. _

_Nathan rubbed his lips together, "So, should I meet you outside to ride over to Brooke's?" _

_Peyton looked up at him as she slung her bag over her shoulder, "I'm getting a ride with Rob." _

"_You're going with Rob McCallahan?" Nathan questioned loudly. _

_Peyton nodded, "Yeah. He offered." _

_Nathan indifferently, " Okay."  
_

_Peyton looked away as she watched Nathan walk towards the locker room. _

"_P. Sawyer! Ready to party it up, bitch?" Brooke asked happily, as she kissed a hot, tall, brunette with a shag. _

"_Yeah. Um, Rob is it okay if I get a ride, right?" Peyton asked looking towards the boy Brooke just kissed. _

"_Oh yeah. It's cool. Nathan's not driving tonight?" Rob asked as he pulled Brooke closer to his body as they walked out of the gym. _

"_No. He's driving. He's just not driving me," Peyton said softly as they approached Rob's car. _

"_Ooooh! Robbie, you didn't tell me you got a BMW convertible! You just said a new car!" Brooke said as she opened the passenger's seat. _

"_I wanted to surprise you, baby. I just feel like..unworthy. Dad said it's for playing well this season. But, he obviously hasn't come to a single game. Did you see Nathan's last shot tonight?" Rob said as he turned on to Main Street. _

_Brooke looked in the back of the car, towards Peyton who was looking out the window, " So. Peyt. If you come up, I'll get you some clothes to change in to." _

_Peyton nodded as she stepped out of the car and towards Brooke's humongous house. _

_Peyton opened the door as Rob was standing next to her, she walked through the house and towards the family room, where everyone was hanging out. _

_Rob softly, "Are you okay?" _

_Peyton looked at him smiling, " Oh. Yeah. I'm fine. Just Nathan. No big deal. You should go find Brooke." _

_Rob gave her an incredibly sexy smile before kissing her cheek and walking towards the kitchen. _

_Meanwhile, the rest of the basketball team was sitting on a sofa on the far side of the room. _

"_Dude. McCallahan definitely just kissed Peyton!" Tim exclaimed. _

_Nathan rolled his eyes, "Do you honestly think I care?" _

"_I would if I had a girlfriend who was that hot," Tim said playfully, yet instead received a death glare from Nathan. _

"_Kidding," Tim murmured. _

_Peyton walked towards the kitchen to see Brooke grabbing a couple beers out of the refrigerator. _

"_Peyt! Hey, let's go change! You want a beer?" Brooke asked as she grabbed her best friend's arm before kissing her boyfriend sweetly on the lips. _

"_No drinking tonight. Let's go have a free for all with your closet, Brooke," Peyton said quietly. _

_Brooke smiled happily before she heard someone call her name. _

"_Brooke?" Nathan asked as Tim was standing right behind him. _

_Peyton turned around to see Nathan leaning on the kitchen counter, they both made eye contact briefly before Peyton began to walk out of the kitchen. _

"_I was actually just leaving," Brooke said snidely before following Peyton upstairs. _

_Nathan rolled his eyes as he grabbed a beer and stared at Rob. _

"_McCallahan. You might want to stay away from my girlfriend," Nathan warned as he walked closer to Rob. _

_Rob snarled, "You sure she's still your girlfriend?"_

Rob immediately regretted his choice of words as he felt a fist come in contact with his left eye. 

"_Hey! Hey, Nate, calm down!" Jake Jagielski yelled as he pulled Rob away from the kitchen. _

……

"_Damn, Peyton! Who knew you would look so good in black?" Brooke asked as she watched Peyton examining herself in front of the mirror, wearing a black halter babydoll ontop of a barely, there "vintage," denim, mini skirt. . _

"_Brooke, this is so damn short!" Peyton exclaimed. _

"_Did you see what I wore to Bevin's party last night?" Brooke asked with a laugh. _

_Peyton shook her head, "Whatever. Let's go down."  
_

"_That's the spirit, Peyton!" Brooke laughed as she grabbed her drink from her dresser. _

_Peyton sighed as she walked down the stairs and towards the family room, walking towards the kitchen. _

"_I thought you weren't drinking, P?" Brooke asked with a smile. _

"_I'm not," Peyton said laughing. _

"_I'm gonna' go find Rob. Later hoe," Brooke yelled over her shoulder. _

"_You need to talk to your boyfriend about the way he deals with certain situations," Rob said, and Peyton turned around. Noticing his black eye and a bag of ice on top of it. _

"_Oh my god! Rob! What the hell happened?" Peyton asked concerned. _

"_Nathan happened," Rob said before walking towards the family room. _

_Peyton looked around the room, spotting Nathan leaning on the same wall he was on half an hour ago. _

_Peyton walked towards him grabbing her hand in his before pulling him away from the group. _

_Nathan smiled softly, "You look mad hot, Pey." _

_Peyton shook her head as she let Nathan's hand go and it dropped to his side, " What the hell is wrong with you?"  
_

"_What are you talking about?" Nathan said, his expression now angry. _

"_What the hell did you do to Rob?" Peyton questioned, her voice as loud as his, and people began to watch the two. _

_Nathan smirked as he shook his head, "Well, maybe if you weren't trying so hard to be a slut, we wouldn't have to have this conversation."  
_

_Peyton rubbed her temples as she looked at him, her hazel eyes tired and sad, "How many times are you going to try and hurt me in one week, Nate? Because you're doing a pretty damn good job." _

_Peyton blinked back tears as she walked towards Bevin who sat on the sofa. _

_Theresa watched as Nathan rubbed his neck with one hand, and held his beer in the other. She quietly got up from the sofa as Bevin and Peyton began doing shots. _

"_Hey, Nate. Are you okay? You look upset?" Theresa asked as she rested her hand on Nathan's chest. Nathan looked up at her, raising his eyebrows slightly. _

_Theresa smiled deviously, "Because...I can make you feel better." _

_Nathan swallowed slowly as he saw Peyton throwing her head back laughing at something Brooke had said, he saw Rob staring at Theresa, and Nathan smirked slightly. _

"_Let's go dance," Nathan murmured as he dropped his empty cup on the table next to him._

_Theresa smiled as she led him towards the dance floor, and placed his hands on her hips as they began to grind to the music. Nathan watched the sofas in which Peyton, Bevin, Bradley, Rob, and Brooke sat on. _

_Rob whispered something in to Brooke's ear and nodded towards Nathan's direction. Nathan grinned as Brooke glared at the two people dancing together, and turned to Peyton. _

"_Pey?" Brooke said sweetly. _

_Peyton laughed, "What now, Brooke?" _

"_Nathan's dancing with Theresa. I'm sorry, baby," Brooke said as she rubbed Peyton's bare shoulder. _

"_What?" Peyton said softly, as she looked towards the dance floor, and spotted the two, dancing incredibly close together; Peyton felt a strong pain her chest. _

"_I-I'm gonna' go," Peyton said softly. _

"_You can't drive! No way! Just go up to my room, I'll come up soon," Brooke ordered as she helped Peyton stand up. _

"_What time is it?" Peyton question as she straightened out her outfit. _

"_One," Brooke said before pointing towards the stairs. _

_Peyton nodded before biting her lip, controlling the tears from falling from her eyes. She sighed, realizing she had to cut through the dance floor to reach the staircase. _

_Peyton wiped her tears, and watched Nathan smiling as he danced with Theresa. Peyton cringed as she saw Theresa's hands roam Nathan's body. _

_Nathan and Peyton's eyes met as she walked by him, her body brushing against his, causing him to smile slightly. He looked down at her, and Theresa hadn't noticed their interaction as she continued to dance. _

_Peyton looked in to his eyes, and spoke softly, " Happy one year anniversary, Nathan." _

_Nathan's smile fell immediately as he looked at his watch and realized it was one in the morning. He disengaged himself from Theresa and began frantically looking for Peyton, yet she was already upstairs in Brooke's room, and he couldn't see the beautiful girl, with the golden curls that he had fallen in love with. And, the sad thing was that she had no clue that he loved her at all. And, she would never find out. _

"So, why did you want to know?" Peyton asked as she reached for another brownie.

Haley shook her head and shrugged, "No. Big deal. I just-He said he loved you."

"What?" Peyton asked, startled and shocked.

Haley laughed, "No worries, Peyton. Not now. Before. In the past. Ew. How weird would that be if he _still_ had feelings for you?"

Peyton looked away, "Yeah. That would be kinda' weird."


	7. Chapter 7

Nathan walked up her staircase and in to her room.

He knocked on her door and stepped inside of her room.

Peyton stared at herself in the mirror, startled.

"Um..One second, Brooke. I just finished taking a shower. I'll be out in like…two minutes," Peyton said.

Peyton wrapped a towel around her body and stepped outside of the bathroom and towards the closet.

"So, I thought you were hanging with Lucas?" Peyton asked.

"Me? Hang with Lucas?" Nathan asked.

Peyton screamed and turned to Nathan her face expressing shock, "Holy shit, Nathan! What're you doing here?"

"Well, I came over here to see if you wanted to work out. I heard you guys had that competition and I thought it could be a way for me to apologize," Nathan said softly.

"Oh. And, the Nathan Scott apologies are headed my way. You know, I didn't miss those that much," Peyton said with a slight smile as she stepped in to her closet and shut the door.

Peyton stepped out of the closet in a pair of royal blue Soffe shorts, rolled over one or two times more than usual, and a white wife beater.

"Go Ravens," Peyton said blankly.

Nathan laughed as she walked towards her dresser to grab socks, and she turned to him with her hand on her hip.

"So are we going or are you going to keep fantasizing about me?" Peyton asked as she walked down the stairs.

"Well, it depends. What are you doing in my fantasy?" Nathan asked with a smirk.

Peyton turned around and smacked his arm, "Just shut up."

Nathan laughed, "So, what exactly do you miss? Besides the hot sex, I mean."

Peyton rolled her eyes, "And, the whole making out in your car during math?"

_Brooke watched as Nathan pat the small kid on the shoulder and pushed him in the other direction. _

"_And, what is your two timing, son of a bitch boy friend planning now?" Brooke asked mildly. _

"_Like I care?" Peyton said softly. _

"_Hence, the booty baring outfit?" Brooke asked with a smile. _

_Peyton rolled her eyes, "Don't say that. Ever again. And, you bought this with me. It's just a skirt. " _

_Brooke shrugged, "Whatever. Let's go to class." _

_Peyton sighed as she followed Brooke to English. _

"_New semester. New classes. This should be fun!" Brooke exclaimed. _

_Peyton rolled her eyes as she walked through the door, "Just promise you'll sit next to me, and not ditch me for-" _

"_I don't see that as much of a problem, seeing that there is alphabetical seating," a tall man, with glasses and a distinguished mustache said as the two girls walked passed him. _

"_Gross," Brooke said. _

"_Number 21, Sawyer. What're you?" Peyton asked. _

"_5. Oh, guess what! Sawyer. Scott. Haha." Brooke laughed. _

"_Brooke. Oh shit," Peyton murmured as she found her seat. _

_Peyton sighed as she took her seat and pulled out her sketchbook, and she looked up when she heard someone get in to the seat next to her. _

"_You're not Nathan," Peyton said loudly. _

"_Good job," a tall, blonde boy said sarcastically. _

_Peyton nodded, "What's your last name?"  
_

"…_Scott.." he murmured. _

"_What?" Peyton asked startled. _

"_Lucas Scott." _

_Peyton's eyes widened, " Nate's gonna love this."  
_

"_He's in this class?"  
_

_Peyton smirked, " Oh. Yeah."_

_Peyton looked up and saw Nathan walking in with Tim with a sorrowful expression on his face, "And, the jackass has entered the building."  
_

_Lucas laughed softly, but avoided eye contact with either of them. _

_Nathan walked towards Peyton's desk and knealt on the side of her desk. He handed her a bouquet of yellow tulips. _

_Peyton sighed as she took them, "Can I help you?"  
_

"_I called you like forty times this weekend," Nathan said softly. _

_Peyton raised an eyebrow, "Theresa wasn't available?" _

_Nathan shook his head, "You know that's not what it was about. I thought you liked McCallahan, okay?" _

_Peyton snarled, "When he's with Brooke?" _

_Nathan sighed, "I'm sorry. I only did it because I was mad. Pey, we just danced. She means nothing, you know that! And, I looked for you all night. I just did it-" _

"_To make me jealous?" Peyton asked. _

_Nathan nodded sheepishly, "I'm sorry." _

_Peyton cocked her head to the side and sighed kissing him on the cheek sweetly. _

"_I love you," Nathan said quietly. _

_Peyton grinned, "I love you, too." _

_Brooke squealed as she watched the two, "Awwwww." _

_Peyton rolled her eyes before kissing him. _

"_Mr. Scott, mind taking a seat?" Mr. Winslow, their teacher, asked. _

"_Um. Yeah. Sorry," Nathan murmured. _

" _You're number 23. Take a seat," Mr. Winslow said. _

"_Like your jersey number, Nate!" Tim yelled, who was sitting behind Peyton. _

_Nathan walked towards his seat, and turned towards the boy next to him. _

"_Hey, man. What's up?" Nathan asked. _

_The boy shook his head, "Not much."  
_

_Nathan nodded, "What's your name?"  
_

_The blonde looked at him, "Lucas." _

_Nathan squinted, and opened his mouth to speak. _

"_Okay, everyone. Welcome to the wonderful world of algebra," Mr. Winslow said with a smile. _


	8. Chapter 8

Peyton laughed as she walked towards her house and Nathan followed behind.

"Thanks, Nate. That was fun," Peyton said as she opened the door.

Nathan shrugged, "Well, you looked hot. So...its all good."

Peyton shook her head laughing as hit his arm, "Haley's going to love that one. So, I'll see you tonight, right?"

Nathan sighed as he shoved his hand's in his shorts pockets, "Nah. Haley doesn't wanna' go out tonight or something. I wanted to go pretty bad though, heard it's going to be mad hot."

Peyton opened the door to her house and looked at him, "You're allowed to do different things. Its not like you guys are Siamese twins or something."

Nathan furrowed his eyebrows, "What?"

Peyton rolled her eyes, " Nevermind. I'll see you tonight, okay?"

Nathan shrugged as he walked towards his car, "Maybe."

Peyton closed the door and ran up the stairs, it was 5:00 and the party started at 8. She had at least an hour to hang out before she had to start getting ready and looked over towards her backpack. She laughed, how much of a loser was she, doing homework on a Friday night. She sighed as she opened up her mathbook.

_Peyton Sawyer opened up her mathbook and adjusted the straps of her royal blue wifebeater, that matched her short white miniskirt. It was a psyche at school to get ready for the big game, and according to Brooke she had to have a little school spirit. She put her backpack on the empty desk next to hers and looked over at Nathan, who was talking to Tim. Peyton leaned over on to the bare seat next to hers, her hands resting on the navy blue plastic. _

"_Nate," Peyton said. _

_Nathan turned his head around and faced Peyton. _

"_Yes?" Nathan asked. _

"_I think you should pick me up at 6 tonight," Peyton said with a small smile on her face. _

_Nathan smirked, as his eyes fell upon her revealed cleavage, "I think you should sit like that more often."  
_

_Peyton rolled her eyes and Nathant bent down to kiss her. Peyton smiled as she felt Nathan's hand running through her hair. _

_Lucas stood awkwardly as he watched the couple kissing on his chair, and cleared his throat. _

_Nathan pulled away to look up at his rumored brother._

"_What?" Nathan asked agitatedly. _

_Lucas raised his eyebrows and nodded towards his seat. _

"_Well, we're using it right now," Nathan said, as he leaned in to kiss Peyton again. Peyton kissed him quickly before pulling away and grabbing her bag off of his desk. _

"_Sorry," Peyton said. _

_Nathan laughed, "Why the hell are you saying sorry to him?" _

_Peyton looked at him sternly before reaching in to her bag for her notebook. _

"_So what're your plans for tonight, Pucas? You going to the formal?" Nathan asked while sneering. _

_Lucas ignored him and opened his textbook. _

"_No plans. Hey that's okay, man. I'm sure Pey could hook you up with some hot cheerleader. Ha. Nah, forget it. I don't think anyone could pull that off." _

_Peyton shook her head as she looked over at Brooke and rolled her eyes. Brooke stood up and walked towards the couple. _

"_So, friends. What are your plans for the evening?" Brooke asked. _

"_Formal," Nathan said. _

"_No, the after party, Natey boy." _

_Nathan smirked, "Peyton's."  
_

_Brooke hit Peyton's arm. _

"_What?" Peyton asked. _

"_You're having a party and didn't tell me?" Brooke asked, with an angry expression. _

_Nathan smirked even bigger, "It's a private party, Brooke." _

_Peyton rolled her eyes but couldn't help smiling. _

_Lucas rolled his eyes at Nathan's comment and shook his head. _

"_Gotcha'. Well, how about you, Larry?" Brooke asked. _

"_Lucas." _

"_Whatever. What're you doing?" _

"_Not going."  
_

"_Why?"  
_

"_Because he has no friends," Nathan said with a laugh. _

_Peyton glared at Nathan who stared back, with a small smile on his face. _

"_Okay, class. Um…Free period," the substitute teacher announced to the class. _

_Peyton stood up and grabbed her stuff, slinging her bag over her shoulder. _

"_Where're you going?" Brooke asked. _

"_Leaving. This is my last class," Peyton said. _

"_We have practice."  
_

_Peyton rolled her eyes, "Come on, Brooke."  
_

_Nathan stood up and put his backpack on, wrapping his arm around Peyton's waist. _

"_Pey, we'll just go chill in my car or something," Nathan said as they walked out of the room. _

_Peyton sighed as they walked through the parking lot and towards Nathan's truck. _

"_Nathan, you have to buy condoms," Peyton said as she opened the car door. _

"_Yeah. I got em'," Nathan said as he threw his bag in the back. _

"_Good." _

_Nathan nodded as he turned on the car and reclined in his seat. Peyton laughed as she moved from her seat to his and sat on his lap. Nathan kissed her hard on the lips and slid his tongue in to her mouth, moaning softly as her tongue collided with his. He placed his hands firmly on her waist and Peyton sucked on his lower lip. He then began to kiss her neck and run his hand up her thigh. Peyton moaned softly and unbuttoned his short sleeve button down, and kissed his neck, sucking on it hard. She pulled away, slightly puzzled as she felt something unusual on his chest. _

"_When did you get that?" Peyton asked smiling. _

"_Last week," Nathan said as he took off her shirt. _

"_Nathan, it's so hot," Peyton said softly as she rubbed her thumb against his nipple ring. _

"_Mmmhmm." _

_Peyton sighed as she looked at the small digital clock, "We have to go."  
_

_Nathan pulled away, "Why?" _

"_Practice," Peyton said as she rubbed her hands against his muscular chest. _

_Nathan groaned as he began to button his shirt and Peyton moved back to her seat. _

"_Where's my shirt?" Peyton asked. _

_Nathan reached on to the floor and gave it to her before reaching in to the back and grabbing both of their bags. _

_Peyton stepped out of the car and grabbed her bag from Nathan. _

_They walked towards the gym and Nathan kissed her quickly. _

"_Seven, right?" Peyton asked. _

"_Yeah. Good math class, right?" Nathan asked with a smirk. _

_Peyton slapped his shoulder playfully before walking in to the locker room. _

Peyton stood infront of the mirror as she applied a pale pink lip gloss, and tossled her curls. She wore her signature, extremely short grey plaid skirt, with a long sleeve, low cut black knit top. Her long, blonde curls shined and she sprayed them with a small amount of hairspray. She stepped in to the black heels and bent down to pick up her large red purse.

"Ah. The Sawyer skirt."

Peyton looked up to see Nathan leaning against the door frame, looking amazingly sexy in a black polo shirt and khaki shorts.

"This is starting to become a pattern. You showing up at my door. I mean I know I'm hot, Nate. But, really…" Peyton said with a smile.

"So, are you going to the party, or are you going to spend the rest of the night getting ready for it?" Nathan asked.

Peyton rolled her eyes but smiled, "Well, I guess it depends. Do I look ready?"

"You look hot."

Peyton blushed slightly but camoflouged it with an accidentally flirtatious laugh, "Well, then. Hell yeah, I'm ready."

Nathan laughed as he watched Peyton run down the stairs in her heels.

"You're going to fall," Nathan said.

"Then, you're going to catch me. Put those arms to some use. Because basketball is obviously not a good enough workout for you," Peyton said as she stepped in to his truck.

"Well, I used to have you, too," Nathan said as he backed out of her driveway.

Peyton looked at him and rolled her eyes, "Are you seriously that horny, Nathan?"

"All the time," he said smugly.

"So, that's why you've been hanging around me recently…" Peyton laughed.

"You know, for a blonde you catch on pretty quick."

Peyton laughed as she slapped his arm.

"We're here," Nathan said as he slipped his keys in to his pocket.

Peyton walked towards Brooke's house, leaving Nathan to analyze her body. She had definitely changed over the last few months. Maybe she grew an inch, her breasts definitely got bigger, but she was still skinny. He smiled as he stared at her legs, long and smooth, just as he remembered them.

Peyton rang the doorbell and Nathan finally caught up with her.

Brooke opened the door with a red cup in her hand, she laughed and cocked her left eyebrow at the two.

"Why are you here together?" Brooke asked.

"He gave me a ride," said quickly as she walked in to the house.

"Ohhhh. Fun. What kind of ride?" Brooke asked, obviously drunk already.

Peyton shook her head as she walked farther in to the house, leaving Nathan and Brooke still standing by the door.

"She looks really hot tonight. Sucks you're with the tutor, huh?" Brooke laughed loudly as she handed Nathan her half empty cup.

Nathan continued to watch Peyton and nodded before finishing the drink, "Yeah."


	9. Chapter 9

Nathan sighed as he stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around himself. Last night's party had left him with a pretty bad hangover, and he had tried to sleep it off. He really couldn't remember much of what happened. His father walked by his room and knocked on the door before walking inside.

"Nathan?"

"Yeah. What's up, Dad?" Nathan asked as he towel dried his hair and reached for the gel sitting on the dresser.

"At least 24 points tonight, okay? We don't want a repeat of last year's Stone Creek game, do we?" Dan called as he walked downstairs.

Nathan sighed as he walked towards his closet, thinking back to what happened last year when the team played Stone Creek.

_Nathan slept silently in his bed as the clock changed from 4:29 to 4:30, and he had should've gotten up by now. Peyton walked in to his room, with her hand on her hip as she threw her cheerleading bag on to the floor. She turned to him and smiled softly, seeing him laying shirtless in his bed. _

_She walked towards the bed and sat next to him, folding her legs underneath her body. Nathan smiled as she placed light kisses along his jaw. _

"_Wake up," Peyton said softly. _

_Nathan groaned and shifted his body. _

_Peyton rolled her eyes and laid down next to him, lifting the sheet up and covering her body as well. Nathan's arm found his way around her waist as he pulled her body in to his. Her head rested on his shoulder. _

"_Nathan, it's four thirty," Peyton said quietly as she began drawing small circles on his chest with her index finger. _

_Nathan sighed as he opened his eyes and yawned. _

"_When do we have to leave?" he asked. _

"_Now. Why are you sleeping at four thirty?"  
_

"_I don't know. I'm just mad tired. It's weird." _

_Peyton nodded before sitting up, "Get ready. We have to get on the bus at 5 to make it to Stone Creek at 7." _

_Nathan pushed the comforter off of his body and walked towards the bathroom. Peyton walked towards his dresser and found his basketball uniform, she pulled it out and put it on his bed. She found his remote and turned on the TV as Nathan shaved in the bathroom. _

_Nathan's cell phone rang and Peyton reached for it, seeing that it was Tim she rolled her eyes. _

"_Hello?" _

"_Hey. Peyton? It's Tim."  
_

"_Yeah. What's up?" _

"_Listen, I have mono. So, tell Nate to tell Whitey. And, tell him you guys don't have to pick me up."  
_

"_Oh. Wow. Okay. So, I'll see you later."  
_

"_Yeah. And, tell Nate. Later, Pey."  
_

_Peyton closed his phone and walked towards the bathroom, opening the door she saw Nathan stepping out of his boxers and turning the shower on. _

_Nathan smirked, "You wanna' join me?" _

_Peyton sighed, "How are you feeling?" _

"_Pretty horny, actually. Especially after seeing you in that uniform," Nathan said with a smile, as he leaned in to kiss her. _

_Peyton pushed him away. _

"_What?" Nathan asked, slightly annoyed. _

"_Tim has mono." _

"_What? Is he okay?" Nathan asked as he stepped in to the shower. _

_Peyton sighed as she walked towards the toilet, and pulled the lid over it, before sitting on top of it. _

"_Well, yeah. But, I think you have it too." _

"_Well, you're the only person I've been kissing, Peyton." _

_Peyton rolled her eyes, "That's good to know, Nate. You can get mono from sharing water bottles." _

"_Shit," Nathan said as he shampooed his hair. _

"_Yeah. And, you're tired, right? That's a major symptom. Brooke's had mono at least fourteen times." _

_Nathan sighed loudly as he shut off the shower and wrapped a towel around himself, "So, what do I do?" _

"_Well, can you play tonight?" _

"_Yeah. I mean, I feel a little off. But, I can play." _

"_..Okay…Hurry up. We have to go." _

_Peyton reached towards the doorknob, but was stopped when she felt two strong hands on her bare waist. _

_Nathan turned her around so she was facing him. _

"_So, does this mean.."Nathan began to ask. _

_Peyton cocked her head to the side, "It means we can't kiss."  
_

"_On the lips.." Nathan said, as he leaned towards Peyton and kissed her neck softly, pushing her towards the bathroom counter. _

_Peyton moaned quietly as she wrapped her arms around his neck. They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Nathan groaned as he pulled away. _

"_What?" he asked agitatedly. _

"_Are you ready?" Dan asked. _

"_Almost," Nathan said, as he leaned towards Peyton again. _

_Dan opened the door causing the two of them to turn around and pull away from each other. _

"_Dad!" Nathan exclaimed. _

"_I thought you were getting ready," Dan said, obviously amused. _

"_Just get out," Nathan said as he walked out of the bathroom, leaving an embarrassed Peyton to follow. _

_THREE HOURS LATER. _

_Peyton sat next to a sleeping Nathan on the bus ride home. _

_Her head was resting on his shoulder as she was listening to her iPod. _

"_Peyton.." _

_She looked towards her right to see Vegas O'Connor staring at her with a smile. He was attractive, but not like Nathan. He had a blonde shag and a relatively muscular build. _

"_What's up, Vegas?" _

"_What was up with Nathan tonight?" _

"_He's pretty sick." _

"_Ah..So, you guys won't be partying tonight?" Vegas asked. _

"_Nah, don't think so. I'll probably just go take care of him, put him to bed." _

_Vegas smirked, "I'm sure you will."  
_

_Peyton furrowed her eyebrows, "Excuse me?"  
_

" _Sorry, I thought. You were going to…Well, Nathan talks about you guys..you know..I just thought you spoke about it openly, too." _

"_What does he talk about?" Peyton asked loudly. _

_Vegas looked away, "Uh...I don't know. What you guys do in bed, I guess." _

_Peyton bit her lip as she swallowed slowly. The tears were building up in her eyes. And, she was finding it difficult to control them. She looked down and saw the familiar Ravens' logo. She squirmed and took off Nathan's letterman jacket. Setting it on his lap she walked towards the back of the bus and towards Brooke who was sitting by herself listening to her own iPod. _

"_What's up, P.Sawyer?" _

_Peyton shook her head as she sat next to her and cried softly, letting the tears fall. _

"_Oh, baby. What happened?" a concerned Brooke asked as she rubbed her best friend's back. _

"_Nathan."  
_

_Brooke snarled, "The monumental asshole."  
_

_Peyton nodded, and cried silently in the arms of her best friend. _

_Half an hour later the kids got off of the bus, and Peyton waited for Brooke, who was saying bye to her "boyfriend-of-the-week," Joey. _

_Peyton rubbed her bare arms with her hands as she shivered in the cold. She felt two hands drape something over her shoulders and turned around to see Nathan with a smile towering over her. She shrugged his jacket off of her body and watched it fall to the floor. _

"_Oh. Sorry, I thought you were cold," Nathan said as he picked it up. _

"_I was," Peyton said as she searched for Brooke. _

"_Are you okay?" Nathan asked as he reached for her hand. _

_Peyton pulled away, "Don't touch me. D-Don't come near me." _

_Nathan stared at her confused, "What the hell did I do?" _

_Peyton snarled, "I don't know. Tell the entire basketball team about what we do in bed?" _

_Nathan looked away quickly, "What?" _

_Peyton shook her head, "Just shut up. J-Just shut up, and go find another cheer slut." _

_Nathan sighed, "Peyton. Calm down, okay? I-I just..Everyone talks in the locker room. Okay?" _

"_Yeah. Does everyone talk about having sex with their girlfriends besides you? Oh wait, Nathan! Did you tell the guys about the time you almost raped me? I'm sure they really enjoyed that one, right?" _

_Nathan sighed, "I'm sorry, okay? Listen, as an underclassmen you kinda' have to talk about this stuff in front of the guys. I-I'm sorry. I'm not the only one. We all do. And, if you don't…It's another thing for the guys to rag on you on.." _

"_So, we have sex so the guys don't laugh at you? We have sex for the team?" _

_Nathan shook his head obviously frustrated, "No! Is that what I said? I said, everyone talks about it. Everyone talks about who they hooked up with the night before. A-And, I'm not just hooking up with random chicks. I'm having sex with my girlfriend. And, I'm proud of that. So, whoever told you this is just a jackass who is trying to skrew up our relationship!" _

_Peyton sighed, "Nate…I-I don't want people to think I'm your whore, okay? I want them..to respect me. And, how are they going to do that, when they know I spread my legs for you every night?" _

_Nathan sighed as he cupped her face in his hands, "Peyton. We're…passionate. Okay? There's nothing wrong with that." _

_Peyton sighed as she allowed herself to fall in to his chest. _

"_Nathan, listen. I don't care what they think, okay? I-I just want you to respect me." _

_Nathan smiled softly, "I do respect you. I love you."  
_

_Peyton smiled as she stood on her toes to kiss him, placing her hand on his face as she pulled him closer to her. _

_Nathan pulled away slowly, "I knew you couldn't resist for too long." _

_Peyton rolled her eyes as she kissed him again pulling away quickly, "Let's go home. We can go to bed."  
_

_Nathan grinned, "Oh really?" _

_Peyton rolled her eyes, "Yeah. We're both sick. As in, we need rest. Not sex."  
_

_Nathan smiled as he wrapped his arm around her as they walked towards the car, "We always need sex." _

_Peyton laughed and hit him playfully. _

Nathan sighed as he slipped his uniform on. Maybe he _did _need another Stone Creek game.

Nathan smiled as he reached for his cell phone.

"Hey Peyton. You wanna' sit with me on the bus tonight?"

…

Hey guys. I'm having a little trouble deciding what to do after this. Ideas are appreciated. Thanks!


	10. Chapter 10

Nathan smiled as he got on to the bus in his warm ups, his bag swung over his shoulder. He walked by Lucas who was sitting next to Brooke, and nodded at him quickly. Lucas and he had actually become "friendly," which was pretty unbelievable considering the way they behaved towards eachother in the beginning of the year. And, he couldn't help but blame two people. Dan Scott and Peyton Sawyer, the one thing those two had in common, was the fact that both brothers fought for their affection. Speaking of Peyton Sawyer…

"Nathan!" Peyton shouted as she sat towards the back of the bus, in front of Tim and Theresa. Nathan grinned as he walked towards her seat, her blonde curls blowing in the wind she smiled at him, waving him over with her right hand, the other holding a huge plastic cup.

"What the hell is that?" Nathan asked as he plopped himself down next to her.

"A Big Slurp, or something like that. I don't know, Brooke had to stop at 7-11," Peyton stated as she sipped through the long straw.

"You want some?"

"What is it?" Nathan asked as he placed his bag on the floor.

"Um…Coke. I think.."

"I'll pass," Nathan laughed.

Peyton smiled as she shook her head, "Whatever. So, why was I invited to sit next to you tonight?"

Nathan smirked, "Because I know you're easy."

Peyton slapped his arm as she gasped, "Like I'd waste my time on your sorry ass. The tutor already has you whipped like a freakin' fifty five year old man."

Nathan turned his head slowly and unzippered his bag.

"Oh…I hit a nerve," Peyton said with a smile.

"You wish," Nathan said with a smile.

"Oh yeah. Because everyone knows I love to push your buttons," Peyton said with a complementary eye roll.

"You do," Nathan stated.

Peyton sighed dramatically, "You got me. I love to push your buttons. Fine."

Peyton sighed as she played with the straw, "Ugh. This isn't coming out."

"Take the lid off," Nathan said as he turned towards his right to speak to Vegas.

Peyton nodded as she took the lid off, and brought the cup to her lips.

The lights turned off and the bus jolted forward.

"Shit!" Peyton exclaimed, as the soda spilled all over her uniform.

Nathan's head turned immediately to see Peyton's body wet, and began to laugh.

"Nathan, this isn't funny. Brooke is going to kill me. She definitely told me to get Sprite," Peyton whined.

"Well, you should've listened," Nathan pointed out as he reached towards his bag, and grabbed a small white towel out of it.

Peyton took the towel gratefully and wiped off her arms and chest.

"This totally went down my shirt and soaked my bra," Peyton sighed.

Peyton turned around towards Theresa.

"Hey Theresa. Do you have an extra bra?" Peyton asked.

"Um. Yeah. Actually, I do. Didn't Brooke tell us to bring extra everything?" Theresa asked as she grabbed her bag.

"Yeah. I just didn't think I'd need an extra bra and I was so wrong."

Theresa nodded as Nathan watched curiously as she passed a padded, black bra to Peyton.

Peyton smiled as she took it, "Thank you so much. I'll wash it and give it to you on Monday."

Theresa shrugged, "Whatever. No prob."

Peyton smiled relieved, "Okay, Scott. Shield me from the rest of the bus."

Nathan's eyebrows raised, "You're changing on the bus?"

"And, let Brooke verbally rape me. I think not. I'm changing on the bus."

Peyton shrugged realizing it was dark, and the only person around who would watch her was Tim, who was already asleep.

Peyton slipped her cheerleading top off and threw it on her lap.

She sighed, realizing how wet her chest was. She turned towards Nathan and caught him staring at her, he turned away, incredibly embarrassed.

Peyton cocked an eyebrow and smirked, "I definitely didn't catch my ex-boyfriend staring at my boobs."

Nathan smiled as he turned towards her and his gaze moved from her eyes to her chest.

"Strike two, Scott."

Nathan smirked as he leaned in towards her, "…You grew."

Peyton smiled and gasped, "Nathan Scott!"

Nathan smirked, "Here. I'll help you. We don't want to steal Mouth's innocence."

Peyton laughed softly, feeling slightly uncomfortable as Nathan leaned in very close to her, and his body was only a couple inches away from hers.

His hands reached around her body and she felt his callous fingers against her bare back. She knew she should tell him to back away, that he was being too forward, but his touch alone made her melt.

He unclasped her bra and pushed it off her shoulders, and Peyton immediately grabbed Theresa's bra off of her lap and threw it over her chest, she bit her lip as she felt Nathan clasp it slowly. Peyton pushed him away and slipped her extra top over her body. She grabbed the cup and rolled her eyes, realizing it was all gone.

"You all good?" Nathan asked, as if what he did was no big deal.

Peyton nodded quickly, pretending the same, "Yeah. Uh..Thanks for your help."

Nathan smirked, "Any time."

And, Peyton couldn't help but look up at him and smile.

…

_Peyton smiled as she walked on to the bus, and saw that the basketball players and some cheerleaders were on it already. _

_She walked over the many bags that laid in the aisle and gasped as she felt two strong hands grab her waist and pull her on to the seat next to her. _

"_Nathan!" Peyton said loudly. _

_Nathan smiled, "Hey babe." _

"_You totally scared the shit out of me," Peyton said, now calm. _

_Nathan laughed as he put her things on the floor, "Well, get over it." _

_Peyton rolled her eyes, and saw that Nathan had placed his hand on her thigh. _

"_Hey. What's up?" Peyton asked, hoping that they could talk. _

_Nathan smiled, "Nothing." _

_And, he leaned in and captured her lips in his, kissing her forcefully on the lips. Peyton moaned softly as she opened her mouth allowing him access for his tongue to slide in. _

_Peyton pulled away, gasping for breath, "I missed you." _

_Nathan moved towards her neck, "Yeah. Me too." _

_Peyton but put her hands on Nathan's face and pulled his head up, kissing him gently. Nathan smiled through the kiss, and slipped his hand under her shirt, pushing the right cup of her bra off of her breast. Peyton moaned softly, and pushed him away. _

"_What?" Nathan asked. _

_Peyton sighed softly, "Nathan, can we talk, please? I've been away for a competition for three days, and I was hoping we could talk for at least ten minutes." _

_Nathan sighed, "We are talking," and he leaned in to kiss her again. _

"_Nathan, I'm not your whore!" Peyton exclaimed softly, pulling his hand out from underneath her shirt. _

_Nathan rolled his eyes, "You know what, Peyton. Fine. Let's talk." _

_Peyton snarled, "About what? How you're pissed that you left your condoms at home?" _

_Nathan's jaw clenched, "Can you stop being such a bitch all the time?" _

_Peyton snarled, "Oh right, Nathan. Because you're not an asshole to me, right?" _

_Nathan sighed, "How bout' you go sit with Brooke, and you come over here when you're not being such a loser?" _

"_Well, Nathan, how about I don't come back over?" _

"_Fine. I'm sure someone else would love to come sit here who won't be such a prude." _

_Peyton rolled her eyes as she tied her hair back in to a ponytail, and reached for her jacket, before adjusting her top. She reached for her bag, but instead grabbed Nathan's arm who was reaching down for his own bag. _

"_I'm sorry, Peyton," Nathan said quietly. _

_Peyton ignored him as she searched through her bag for her iPod. _

"_Peyton, I mean it. I'm sorry. I'm just nervous about the game. Okay? My dad's been really hard on me, and I shouldn't take it out on you. I'm sorry…" Nathan said, his blue eyes locking with hers. _

_Peyton let a small smile slip, "Fine." _

_Nathan smiled as he brought his face closer to hers, "And, trust me. I know you're not a prude." _

Whitey blew a whistle and the entire bus woke up and looked towards the front of the bus.

Whitey grinned, "We're here."


	11. Chapter 11

Nathan walked in Tim's house with a bunch of his friends, the party had already begun and he recognized a lot of familiar faces. They had won the game, and the bus ride home had been slightly awkward. As soon as they got on the bus, Peyton had put on a sweatshirt and fell asleep, leaving Nathan to listen to his iPod and watch her for a little bit. The party was in full swing and he smiled softly as he saw a bunch of girls dancing in the middle of Tim's family room. Some of the girls were still in their cheerleading uniforms, including Peyton, yet she still had her sweatshirt on. He laughed as he saw Brooke grab Peyton's arm and drag her towards the kitchen, Nathan followed the girls along with some of his friends.

"Pey, what do you wanna' drink?" Brooke asked as she opened Tim's fridge.

"Whatever," Peyton said as she leaned against the counter.

Brooke rolled her eyes, "You know, I hate that word. It's all you ever say anymore. Whatever. God, who says that?"

"…I do." Peyton said with a smile.

"…Whatever," Brooke said with a laugh.

"Hey Peyton, hand me one?" Nathan asked as he nodded towards the fridge.

Peyton looked up and made brief eye contact with Nathan, she looked away and handed him the beer without looking at him again. Nathan sighed softly as he opened the can.

Peyton smiled as she took a seat at the table and Brooke sat across from her, talking to her old boyfriend, Rob McCallahan. She suddenly felt a hand on her bare thigh, and furrowed her eyebrows, looking immediately to the right.

_Nathan smiled as he walked in to the bathroom along with Tim and Joey. He heard two kids talking, and put his finger to his mouth as he nodded towards the direction the voices were coming from. _

"_Okay, man. So if you could pick one girl to dance with at the party, who would it be?" one of the boys asked. _

"_Um...Well, Peyton Sawyer…I guess," another boy asked, cheerfulness evident in his voice. _

_Tim grinned but Nathan shook his head, with a smile on his face as well. The three basketball players continued to hide behind the wall. _

"_Isn't she going out with Nathan Scott?" the first voice asked. _

"_..Well, yeah. But, I dunno'. She's just really pretty. And, nice. I just thought if I could ask any girl, I'd ask her…" _

_The other boy laughed quietly, "Yeah. And, how often do you see her? I mean, outside your fantasies." _

_Nathan smirked and by now Tim and Joey were on the floor with their hands covering their mouths, to refrain from laughing. _

_The boy laughed nervously, "Shut up, Dan." _

"_Dude, last time I slept over I totally heard you in your sleep…How many times did you say Peyton, Gary?" the second boy asked. _

"_Whatever. Have you seen her webcam?" the embarrassed boy asked. _

_Nathan laughed as he walked towards them, "Have you seen her naked?" _

_The other two boys standing in front of the mirror stared at the three jocks who were smirking at them. _

"_What?" Gary, the embarrassed boy, asked. _

"_So, you like my girlfriend?" Nathan asked calmly as he walked towards a sink. _

"_What..Um. No..I just.." _

"_Dream about her?" Nathan laughed along with Tim and Joey. _

"_N-No. I…"_

_Nathan laughed, "And, what makes you think that she'd even talk to a loser like you?" _

_Nathan laughed as he adjusted his tie in the mirror and turned towards Gary, while his friend Dan stood silently next to them. _

_Gary's voice cracked as he spoke softly, "I..um..In biology sometimes, she'll talk to me.." _

_Nathan grinned, "Hold up. I recognize you. You're the kid Brooke pays Peyton to flirt with, right? You sit in front of me in bio?" _

_The kid nodded slowly, "She pays her to talk to me?"_

_Nathan laughed, "Oh. You know, this is actually kinda' cute. You have a crush on her, man?" _

_The boy blushed, but shook his head. _

"_Eh. It's okay. It's not like she even knows your name.." _

_Gary's jaw clenched, "Actually. She does. And, I'm gonna' go. Come on, Dan." _

_Nathan smirked as he blocked the doorway, "Not so fast, man. We're just getting to know each other." _

_Gary stood nervously as Nathan walked towards him, and only realized that he didn't really want to talk when Nathan's fist made contact with his jaw. _

_Peyton and Brooke were dancing amidst a group of girls in the middle of the dance floor. _

"_Is this the best homecoming or what?" Brooke asked happily. _

_Peyton laughed as she nodded her head and ran her right hand through her hair. Her short green dress riding up a little and she adjusted it slightly. Brooke laughed as she saw Tim coming towards them dancing and Peyton joined in as well. She was slightly alarmed when she felt two hands grab her hips and smiled thinking it was Nathan. She began to grind along to the music with him and eventually turned around, with her eyes closed, wrapping her arms around his neck, yet frowned when she realized that she had reached too far. She opened her eyes and realized that she hadn't been dancing with Nathan. _

"_Vegas?" Peyton asked as she took her hands off of him. _

"_Hey Sawyer," Vegas said with a smile. _

"_What're you doing?" Peyton asked, rubbing her shoulder uncomfortably. _

"_Dancing with you. I think you knew that," he said with a smirk. _

"_I-I uh..thought you were Nathan," Peyton said softly. _

"_Yeah. Well, I thought I'd surprise you," Vegas said. _

_Peyton bit her lip, "I'm gonna' go." _

_Vegas grabbed her arm as she was walking away, "Where're you going, Goldilocks?" _

_Peyton looked at him, "Let go, Vegas." _

_Vegas smiled, "Listen. I was thinking maybe you and me could party later tonight? Alone..." _

_Peyton pushed him away and walked off the dance floor, looking for Nathan, or Brooke, or even Tim. _

_She sighed as she walked towards a table to grab some water. She grabbed a bottle and opened it, drinking it quickly. She threw it away and began to walk towards the door, but someone grabbed her arm. _

"_I thought I told you not to touch me!" Peyton said, trying to yell over the music. _

"_What?" _

"_Nathan? Oh my god. Hey," Peyton said softly as she wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him. _

_Nathan laughed quietly, "Are you okay?" _

_Peyton sighed, deciding that she may not tell Nathan what happened, "Yeah. I just…Forget it."_

_Nathan shrugged as he pulled her towards the dance floor as a slower song began to play. _

"_Where were you?" Peyton asked quietly, as she wrapped her hands around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. _

_Nathan chuckled, "You would not believe what I heard in the locker room. There were these two losers, and they were like asking each other who they would dance with if they got the chance. And, one of them was like '…Peyton Sawyer." _

_Peyton smirked, "Really?" _

"_Yeah, and then I walked in and started asking him about it. And, he was trying to defend himself. And, then I realized that he's the kid Brooke pays you to flirt with in science…" _

_Peyton laughed softly, "Okay. Larry?" _

_Nathan smirked, "Nah. I think it's Gary. But, anyway, me and Tim started you know...Just playing around with him." _

_Peyton pulled away from his shoulder, "Nathan…You didn't." _

"_What?" Nathan asked innocently. _

_Peyton sighed, "Did you beat him up just because you felt like it?" _

_Nathan shrugged, "Whatever. Peyton, it doesn't matter.,"  
_

_Peyton sighed, "Yes. Nathan, it does. Because what's he going to say to his mom, when she asks how he got that?" _

_Nathan rolled his eyes, "Because he was a loser who couldn't defend himself. Peyton, he was like..talking about his fantasies about you."   
_

_Peyton rolled her eyes, "I can't imagine that kid even having a fantasy, Nathan…"  
_

_Nathan smirked, "What the hell, Peyton? You like him? You wanna' end this so you can go dance with him?" _

_Peyton shook her head as she pulled her body away from his, "Nathan, before beating up random strangers, why don't you ask some of your "boys" what they say to me when you're not around? Then, maybe we can talk." _

_Nathan looked at her sternly, "What're you saying?" _

_Peyton rolled her eyes, "Whatever. Right. It doesn't matter?"  
_

_Nathan glared at her, "Peyton. Who said something to you?"  
_

_Peyton looked up at him, "Forget it, okay? I just want you to stop beating up random kids, Nathan. First off, they're intimidated by you, and second off..you're probably like ten times stronger than them!"  
_

_Nathan grabbed Peyton's arm gently, "Who said something Peyton?"  
_

_Peyton sighed, "Vegas asked me if I wanted to come over his house later. So, we could party alone."  
_

_Nathan's jaw clenched as he let go of Peyton's arm, and his hands curled in to fists. _

_He immediately began to search the room for him. _

"_Nathan!" Peyton yelled, trying to prevent him from starting a fight. _

_Yet, he didn't care and he continued to look for him. _

_He spotted him talking to Tim across the room. _

"_Don't talk to that fag, Tim," Nathan barked as he walked towards them. _

"_What?" Both boys asked. _

_Peyton stood nervously behind Nathan as people began to stare. _

_Brooke emerged. "What's goin' on?" _

_Peyton shrugged, not able to talk. _

_Nahtan walked towards Vegas, anger oozing out of his pores, "You wanna' tell me what you did to my girlfriend, man?" _

_Vegas swallowed slowly but smiled, "Eh. It was nothing. I was just dancing with her.."  
_

_Nathan's eyes widened as he turned around, "Peyton?" he asked angrily. _

_Peyton sighed, " I thought he was you, Nathan. No one else touches me like that."  
_

_Nathan glared at Vegas, " So you were touching her, too?"  
_

_Vegas sighed, "Listen, man. I'm sorry. It was just a dance, okay? And, she stopped. So…We're cool?"  
_

_Nathan laughed, "You wanna' tell me what you said to her after?" _

"_About the party I'm having at my house?" Vegas said innocently. _

"_The party at your house or the party in your room?" Nathan asked as he grabbed Vegas' collar and pushed him towards the wall. _

_Vegas smirked, "Well, man. Maybe if you were around this wouldn't have happened, right?" _

_Nathan pulled his elbow back and punched Vegas' stomach continuously until Vegas pulled away and began defending himself. Vegas eventually punched Nathan's right eye and Nathan tackled him to the floor. _

_Tim pried Nathan off of Vegas' body, causing Vegas to laugh softly. _

"_You wouldn't be so pissed off if you knew I wasn't a threat, man," Vegas commented._

_Nathan glared at him, trying to rid himself from Tim's grasp, yet looked up to see a chaperone staring at the two. _

"_What's going on here?" Mr. Lawler asked. _

_Peyton grabbed Nathan's arm quickly and pulled him towards the door, "Nothing, sir." _

_Peyton sighed as she walked towards Nathan's truck and opened the door, waiting for him to begin the conversation. _

_Peyton quietly, "…Did you have fun?" _

_Nathan rolled his eyes, "Oh. Yeah. Loads." _

_Peyton sighed, "You know what? You didn't have to react the way that you did." _

_Nathan snarled, "Right. Some other guy is touching my girlfriend, and then asking him to come over so he could fuck her, and I don't have to do anything about it?" _

_Peyton laughed, "Oh right. I mean, why would he be so interested if you didn't give him any ideas of what we do?" _

_Nathan shook his head, his voice escalating, "I'm not the only guy in the whole goddamn school who thinks you're hot, Peyton!" _

_Peyton crossed her arms over her body as she reached for the volume button, "Let's just go home, okay? Just forget it happened." _

Peyton quietly, "Get your hand off of my thigh, Vegas."

Vegas smirked, "What's up, baby? You're not taken tonight, are you?"

Peyton cringed as she felt his hand slide farther up her thigh, and stood up abruptly, causing some other people to stare at her.

Brooke looked at her, "Wow. Peyton, you need another drink. Or, maybe not…I really don't know. But, you're like having spaz-attacks.

Peyton ignored her and stood up walking around the spacious kitchen and towards the sink, knowing that Vegas was following her. She sighed uncomfortably, realizing that there were a lot of her friends surround her.

Nathan laughed at something Tim said about his older brother and grabbed another beer from the counter.

Tim nodded towards the sink, "Isn't Peyton a little out of Vegas' league?"

Nathan looked towards the sink, which was only two feet away, to see Peyton filling a glass of water and Vegas behind her, a little bit too close.

Nathan continued to watch, trying not to seem like a jealous ex-boyfriend, and more like a concerned friend.

Vegas smiled, "Hey Peyton. I'm thinking that you should take that sweatshirt off. Aren't you getting a little bit hot?"

Peyton turned around, and realized how close he was, "You really need to back off…"

Vegas grinned, "Why? You're single, right? Nathan doesn't own you anymore?"

Peyton pushed passed him, "Own me?"

Nathan overheard their conversation, and felt his jaw clench.

Vegas grabbed her arm, "Well, now that he's out of the picture, I think we should give it a try..."

Peyton searched the room for Brooke, but realized she wasn't there.

Vegas smiled as he placed his hands on her waist, but looked up shocked as his body was pushed towards the wall.

"You wanna' back off?" an angry Nathan asked as he continued to hold Vegas to the wall.

Vegas smirked, "What the hell are you doing?"

"You know, I think I should be asking you that question. She doesn't want you."

"Sure, as hell didn't want you either, right? That's why she dumped your ass…So, why don't you leave it to me, okay?" Vegas smiled before attempting to walk away.

Nathan shook his head as he grabbed Vegas' sweatshirt and pushed him back towards the wall, extremely hard.

Peyton walked towards him, "Nathan, stop. It's okay…"

Nathan angrily, "What gives you the right to say stuff like that to her?"

Vegas softly, "Look, I'm sorry, man. Okay?"

Nathan louder, "You owe me an apology?"

Vegas turned to Peyton, "I'm sorry."

Nathan pushed him harder against the wall, "You mean that?"

Peyton grabbed Nathan's arm, "Leave him alone, Nate."

Nathan sighed softly as he let him go and grabbed Peyton's hand, and walked towards the front door of Tim's house. Peyton was slightly surprised by the gesture, but stayed silent until she was sitting in the passenger seat of his truck.

"…Thanks, Nate. For..uh..helping me back there…"

Nathan shook his head, "I can't believe he said that to you. What a fu-"

Peyton sighed, "It's..okay."

Nathan shook his head, "No. It's not! What the hell, Peyton? How could you even say that?"

Peyton shrugged, "It's not okay. I just…It's good that you helped me out. I don't know what I would've done if you weren't there to save my ass."

Nathan smiled, "Yeah. Well, I've always loved your ass."

Peyton rolled her eyes and looked around his truck. It was exactly the same, bottles everywhere, leftover bags from fast-food restaurants, the only thing missing were random condom wrappers on the floor in the backseat.

Nathan smirked, "Reminiscing?"

"Why would I want to reminisce about something so horrible?" Peyton asked with a small smile.

Nathan shook his head as he pulled in to his driveway.

"Nathan?" Peyton questioned.

Nathan looked at her, and raised his eyebrows slightly, "What?"

Peyton smiled, "You should go back to the party.."

Nathan smiled, "I kinda' wanted to go back and beat Vegas' ass. But…I guess…hanging with you is a little bit better."

Peyton smiled, "Yeah. Well, don't expect too much."

Nathan smiled as he walked towards the door and opened it, and Peyton laughed as she ran up the stairs. Nathan swallowed slowly as Peyton's extremely short cheerleading skirt flapped up and down every step that she took. Nathan walked up the stairs and towards his room.

"You haven't changed it at all," Peyton stated as she jumped on to his bed.

Nathan shrugged, "Yeah. I guess. Same…Sheets…"

Peyton glared at him, "Why don't you just have sex with Haley so we can get passed this sexual tension…"

Nathan smiled, ignoring her statement, "Eh. You know you love it."

Peyton sighed, "Okay. So, are there actually books on your bookshelf?"

Nathan laughed, "Well, maybe, a couple."

Peyton smiled as she stood up, "…Cyrano de Bergerac…A Tale of Two Cities…a photo album?"

Peyton smiled as she grabbed it off the shelf and walked back towards the bed. Nathan stared at her.

"Peyton. Can I have that back?" Nathan asked quickly.

Peyton rolled her eyes, "Oh please. Yeah right."

Nathan sighed as he watched Peyton open the photo album, and see her eyes widen slightly.

Nathan shrugged uncomfortably, "My mom made it."


	12. Chapter 12

Nathan sighed as Peyton flipped through the pages.

Peyton softly, "This is us."

Nathan nodded, "Yeah. It is."

Peyton smiled as she looked at the pictures. Pictures of Freshman Formal, and Sophomore Formal. Pictures of them taken by Brooke during Nathan's birthday party.

Peyton shook her head smiling as her eyes fell upon a picture of them on Halloween two years ago.

_Nathan laughed as he walked towards Peyton's house in a baggy pair of jeans and a long, oversized white t-shirt with a hat sitting on his head. Tim followed behind him dressed similarly. _

_Tim laughed, "Do I look too ghetto?"  
_

_Nathan rolled his eyes, "You don't look ghetto enough. I on the other hand, know how to work it." _

_Tim rolled his eyes, "Yeah. Okay." _

_Nathan smiled as he walked through the door and looked at the stairs. Usually, he would walk right up, but for some reason, while Tim was here, he figured he should just wait downstairs. _

"_Peyton!" Nathan yelled up the stairs. _

_Brooke rolled her eyes as she stood in Peyton's room, "We're coming. Shut up!" _

_Peyton sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror, the extremely short orange, silky shorts and the tight and teeny t-shirt looked really good on her, it was what was written on the t-shirt that made her feel a little uncomfortable. _

_Brooke smiled, "Wasn't it a perfect idea to be Hooters' girls, P. Sawyer!" _

_Peyton rolled her eyes, "Do I look even look like a Hooters' girl?" _

_Brooke nodded, "Oh yeah. See you may not have boobs, but you've got an ass…" _

_Peyton slapped her arm laughing as she slipped on the orange heels Brooke had bought her. _

"_Do they even wear heels?" Peyton asked as she slipped them on. _

"_Who cares?" Brooke asked as she walked down the stairs. _

_Peyton smiled as she followed and saw Nathan and Tim sitting on the couch watching TV. _

"_Boys…" Brooke said smiling as she opened the front door. _

_Nathan looked up to see both girls looking at them with Hooters' outfits on and he couldn't help but smirk. _

_Brooke rolled her eyes, "Yeah. Okay. Stop. Tim. You're driving." _

_Tim smiled as he followed Brooke out the door leaving Peyton and Nathan to follow. _

_Peyton shut the door and Nathan slipped his arm around her waist. _

"_You look hot," Nathan said simply. _

_Peyton rolled her eyes, "Yeah. And, you…look like a wankster." _

_Nathan laughed loudly, "You should never say that again."  
_

_Peyton smiled, and a couple minutes later they arrived at Theresa's house. _

_Half an hour in to dancing, Brooke pulled Nathan's camera out of her purse, she still had it from borrowing it the other night. _

_She laughed as she walked by Nathan whispering something in his ear, causing Nathan to smile. _

_Brooke bent down behind Peyton, and Nathan smiled in to the camera with a goofy grin on his face, and he grabbed Peyton's ass. Peyton looked over her shoulder with an annoyed expression on her face as she pushed Nathan's head away from her body. _

Peyton rolled her eyes at the picture, "So, how'd your mom find this one?"

Nathan smirked as he looked at the picture, "She just found all the pictures on my camera."

Peyton looked up her eyes wide and her eyebrows raised, she looked at him nervously, "All of them?"

_Nathan groaned as he walked in to Peyton's room and opened his basketball bag on her bed searching for his camera. He had to upload a couple pictures for his science project that he had to do unless he wanted to fail the course. _

_He fumbled through his bag, passed his shorts and sneakers, and found the small Sony Cybershot his dad bought him last year. _

"_Peyton?" Nathan called, wondering where her USB cord was. _

_Peyton walked out of the bathroom with her hair loosely tied back in a dark green towel. _

"_What?" Peyton asked as she walked towards her bed. _

_Nathan turned around and smiled, "Did you just take a shower?" _

_Peyton rolled her eyes, "Yeah. I did. You…are such a hornball." _

_Nathan shrugged as Peyton walked towards her closet and he grinned at the camera he held in his hand. _

_He put it on quickly and snapped a shot of her grabbing a shirt. _

"_What was that?" Peyton asked, referring to the "click" she just heard. _

_Nathan shrugged, "Dunno'." _

_Peyton shrugged as well and continued searching for a shirt. Nathan smiled again. _

_  
"Peyton," he called, and waited till she turned her head towards him to take another picture. _

"_Nathan!" Peyton exclaimed as she spotted the camera in his hands. _

_Nathan stared at her innocently, "What?" _

_Peyton rolled her eyes, "You know what? I don't care. It's not like it's hardcore porn or anything. I'm wearing a towel for Christ's sake, seriously, how horny can you get looking at that?" _

_Nathan smirked as he walked towards her, "Well…I can get pretty horny looking at that, especially because I know what you look like without that towel on." _

_Peyton couldn't help but smile as she turned away from him and continued to search for an outfit to wear for the party later on that night. _

_She felt Nathan's fingers on her bare shoulders, moving downwards towards the top of her towel. She bit her lip as he tugged at the towel, and Peyton watched it fall to the floor. Peyton turned around and saw Nathan walking towards her computer chair she looked at him slightly puzzled with her hand on her hip. _

"_Okay. Why'd you do that?" Peyton asked, slightly amused. _

_Nathan smiled as he held the camera a few inches from his face, and took a quick shot. _

_Peyton's jaw fell to the floor, "Nathan!" _

_Nathan smirked as he stood up slowly and watched Peyton walking towards him, an angry expression painted on to her face. _

"_Babe, you don't look that hot when you're pissed off," Nathan teased as he walked backwards towards the door, yet Peyton ran towards the door and shut it quickly, blocking him from leaving, as she rested her naked body against the door. _

"_I can't believe you just did that. Delete it, Nathan," Peyton commanded. _

_Nathan shrugged as he walked closer towards her, and closed the gap between their two bodies. Peyton felt his lips crash in to hers and couldn't help but succumb to his touch. Nathan pulled his arm away slightly, holding the camera at a distance from their bodies, and taking a quick picture of his naked girlfriend and himself. _

_Peyton pulled away, "Nathan! Stop!" _

_Nathan chuckled to himself as he placed his hands underneath her thighs and lifted her body off of the floor, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He kissed her again and walked towards the bed, placing her on the bed first as he relaxed his body on top of hers. _

Nathan smirked, "Nah. I uploaded those pictures of you in a towel and deleted them off of my camera."

Peyton rolled her eyes, "What about those pictures of me without a towel on?"

Nathan shrugged, " I uploaded those too."

Peyton nodded slowly as she closed the album, not wanting to look at any more pictures at the moment.

"Okay. So, I think should leave. Um. Thanks for the ride…I'll see you later," Peyton said quickly.

"I'll drive you home. You can't walk," Nathan said, slightly puzzled as to why she wanted to leave now.

"It's okay, Nate. I can-" Peyton started.

"I have to go back to my apartment anyway. Wouldn't want to see my-"

"Nathan?" Dan Scott asked as he walked in to his son's usually abandoned room.

Nathan rolled his eyes, "Yeah. Dad, what's up?"

Dan smiled as he saw Peyton laying on the bed, "What's this, Miss. Sawyer's here to visit?"

Peyton looked up at Dan and then towards Nathan, "I'll go wait in the car."

Dan smiled sweetly as he nodded towards the closed photo album, "Reminiscing, huh? That's sweet. So, Nathan how're you doing, son?"

Nathan stared angrily at his father, "I'm fine."

Dan shrugged, "Then what're you doing in my house?"

Nathan shook his head, "Some guy was hitting on Peyton, so I took her here. Is that cool, Dad?"

Dan smiled at Peyton again, looking her up and down as she stood up from the bed, "Yeah. It's fine. But, you guys can leave now, right? I mean, since you don't live here anymore."

Nathan rolled his eyes as he looked at Peyton and motioned towards the door, Peyton walked out quickly, and Nathan began to follow.

Dan smirked as he grabbed on to Nathan's arm, "Hey, son. Remember to be safe, okay? Just remember the mistake I made."

Nathan glared at him angrily, as he shook his father's arm off his body.

Dan smiled, "Oh. And, say hi to the tutor for me, okay? What a nice, wholesome girl…"

Nathan's jaw clenched as he walked down the stairs and to his car, and drove Peyton home silently. He was distant, and was well aware of it. Who knew that his dad who was the one who finally made it seem so real? He was actually questioning his feelings for Haley, and admitting it to himself.

Ten minutes later, Peyton looked over at Nathan as he pulled in to her driveway.

Peyton smiled weakly, "Nathan. Thanks for the ride. Thanks for everything. It means a lot to me."

Nathan nodded and turned towards her, "Your dad home?"

Peyton looked towards the house and sighed sadly, "Nope. Three month trip, he left three days ago."

Nathan nodded as he opened his car door, and began walking towards the house. Peyton stared at him slightly confused yet followed him towards her house.

Nathan opened the door to the house and walked up the stairs, leaving Peyton to follow.

Nathan sat on the bed and Peyton sat next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. She smiled, and cocked her head to the side, causing a few curls to fall on to her face, framing it beautifully.

"Nate? Are you okay? I know your dad must have pissed you off…It's just-" Peyton began to say.

Nathan grabbed her neck with his right hand, pulling her face closer to his, as he kissed her hard on the lips. Peyton gasped in to his mouth, and hesitantly kissed him back. She eventually relaxed and realized that her sweatshirt had been taken off and thrown on to the floor, and that she was now laying down on her bed, with Nathan on top of her. She felt his hands aggressively grab her hips, pulling her body closer to his, and pushed him away.

"Nathan…This isn't-Stop."

Nathan groaned as he pulled away from her and looked at her, his eyes locking with hers.

"That was-That was wrong," Peyton said as she sat up on the bed.

Nathan sighed, "But, it felt good, right?"

Peyton shook her head, now slightly upset, "It felt good. But, that doesn't make it right. And, the only reason it felt good was because you're upset and pissed and-"

Nathan looked at her, slightly annoyed, "I think it felt good, simply because it did. It felt good, because I liked it."

Peyton rolled her eyes, "What don't you like that's sexually related?"

Nathan rolled his eyes as he stood up off her bed and looked down at her, "You're being ridiculous."

Peyton laughed, "I'm being ridiculous! You kissed me. You were pissed at your dad, and you figured that I could make you feel better. Just like old times, right?"

Nathan smirked, "You let me didn't you?"

Peyton stared at him before walking towards her closet and grabbing a pair of shorts and a beater, she closed the closet door, and emerged a couple minutes later fully changed.

Peyton stayed silent as she slipped under the comforter, and faced away from Nathan.

Nathan sighed softly, "Peyton, I'm sorry."

Peyton rolled her eyes, "There's a pair of shorts that you left here in the far right drawer in my chest. Just put them on and go to bed."

Nathan looked at her feeling quite guilty, and quickly shed his clothes and pulled on the red pair of basketball shorts he found in her drawer. He slipped in to the other side of her bed and looked at her for a little bit, hoping she would turn to him, and tell him she was okay, or that she forgave him. Yet, she continued to face the other way; Nathan cautiously draped his arm over her waist, and waited for a reaction, yet Peyton allowed him to touch her. He figured she must've been asleep, and he gently pulled her body closer to his. He closed his eyes as he fell asleep, inhaling the familiar fragrance of her shampoo, while Peyton fell asleep as she felt the reassuring rise of his bare chest against her back. And, they slept, as they had so many times before, together.


	13. Chapter 13

Peyton awoke at around nine o' clock the next morning, and smiled softly as she felt Nathan's arm around her body. She turned around slowly and saw him sleeping, Peyton quietly pulled the comforter off of her body and froze as she heard Nathan groan, and pull her body closer to his. She looked over at him and noticed that his eyes were open and he was staring at her. She smiled softly and rested her head on his pillow.

"Morning," she said softly.

Nathan smiled, "Yeah. Same."

Peyton laughed and felt his hands move towards her waist, causing her to look in to his eyes seriously. Peyton rubbed her lips together, and couldn't find it in herself to break the stare.

Nathan leaned down towards her, and kissed her gently on the lips. Peyton responded immediately this time and her hands found their way to his face. Nathan smiled through the kiss and pulled her body on top of his, causing her to giggle softly. His right hand played with the hem of her green tank top and he began to suck on her neck.

Peyton moaned softly and felt him pull her shirt over her head, tossing it towards the foot of the bed.

She heard the shrill ring of her telephone and pulled away slowly looking towards the phone.

Nathan pulled her closer to him, "Don't."

Peyton sighed as she ignored the phone call and ran her hands over Nathan's muscular chest, scraping it gently with her nails. She placed wet kisses along his neck and chest, and began to suck on his left nipple. She couldn't help but smile as she heard him moan her name, and then grinded her pelvis against his.

"P.Sawyer! Pick up your goddamn phone! I've been calling your stupid cellphone, and you didn't pick that up! What the hell? I have something important to talk to you about, and it would be nice if you were somewhat courteous and called me back. Yeah. Thanks."

Peyton sighed as she looked towards the phone, after listening to Brooke's loud and obnoxious voicemail.

Nathan softly, "Unplug it."

Peyton sighed as she rolled off of Nathan and looked at the clock.

"Brooke probably wants to come over. She'll be over like any minute. You should go," Peyton said quietly a she reached for her shirt.

Nathan looked at her, slightly confused and somewhat angry, "What?"

Peyton looked at him seriously, "You should go, Nathan."

Nathan rolled his eyes, "What do you want, Peyton? I mean, one minute you're on top of me, the next you want me to leave?"

Peyton stood up angrily, "Well, I'm sorry I'm the only one with a conscience!"

Nathan shook his head as he rolled out of bed and slipped off his basketball shorts, knowing very well Peyton was staring at his naked form. He slipped on his clothes from the night before and turned to look at her.

Nathan angrily, "What do you want from me?"

Peyton stared at him, obviously upset, "I don't want to be your whore."

Nathan looked at her, his eyes softening, he made his way towards the bed, and sat by next to her, "Pey, you're not. You know that."

Peyton shrugged as she looked away.

Nathan smiled at her, placing his finger on her jaw, and moving her face towards hers, "I want to spend time with you."

Peyton smiled softly as she nodded, "Yeah. Okay."

Nathan leaned in and kissed her sweetly before pulling away, "So, how bout' tonight after the game, I come over and we can hang out…Just like old times?"

Peyton nodded happily as Nathan grabbed his bag off the floor, "Alright. Later, babe."

Nathan kissed her one more time before leaving the room and walking down the stairs and out the door.

Peyton grinned deviously as she reached towards her phone, "Hey Brooke. Yeah, sorry for not picking up. So, you want to go shopping today? Like for lingerie?"

45 MINUTES LATER.

Brooke stared at the mirror in the dressing room she was sharing with Peyton.

"So, Peyton, why do you need this stuff again?" Brooke asked.

Peyton shrugged, "Well, why do you buy lingerie, Brooke?"

Brooke smiled, "Because I know I look hot in it."

Peyton smiled back, "Yeah. Well, I do too…Now."

Brooke rolled her eyes, "The last time you bought lingerie, you were Nathan…So, I'm thinking…"

Peyton stared at her seriously, "Brooke. I need some new bras. That's it."

Brooke laughed, "So, you go for the dark red, lacy push up bras?"

Peyton shrugged, "…Dare to be different, Brooke."

Brooke scoffed, "Or slutty?"

Peyton raised her eyebrows smiling, "Whose talking, B. Davis?"

Brooke laughed loudly, "Fine. Well, get the matching boyshorts."

Peyton nodded as she picked up her matching ensemble and walked towards the register.

THREE HOURS LATER

Peyton stood on the side lines cheering loudly as the game was coming to a close. The score was 38-14. Ravens.

"Let's go Ravens!" the cheerleaders yelled on the sidelines.

Peyton watched as Lucas scored the winning shot of the game, and Nathan watched slightly angrily from the other side of the court.

Peyton rubbed her lips together, she wanted to run over to him and kiss him. And, tell him that he played really well anyway. But, she knew she couldn't and placed her pompoms in her cheerleading bag and grabbed a bottle of water.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around quickly, hoping that it was Nathan, and she found a pair of blue eyes staring at her.

"Lucas?" Peyton questioned.

"Hey. Listen, um…well, Bevin's having that party, right? And, she invited me…And, well, even though you're probably already invited, I wanted to know if you'd come with me?"

Peyton adjusted the strap of her bag and scanned the basketball court looking for Nathan, who she saw in the middle of the court, hugging Haley. Peyton looked at Lucas smiling.

"Yeah. That sounds great," Peyton said with a smile.

….

Nathan sighed as he rubbed his neck with his hand, he was happy his dad wasn't at the game, because after Lucas scored the winning shot, he knew he would be going through hell the next morning.

Haley walked up to him with a smile, in her dark, blue jeans and olive green blazer.

"You played great!" Haley said happily, as she hugged him.

Nathan nodded, smiling weakly, "Yeah. Thanks."

Nathan looked around the gym as he was embracing Haley, and his eyes fell upon two blondes. Both engaged in conversation, smiling happily.

He glared at them jealously, anger pumping through his veins. Why the hell was Lucas talking to Peyton, and why the hell was she talking back? Especially after what he had put her through, with himself and Brooke. Lucas had ruined two of Peyton's relationships, and there Peyton was, acting like he was a freaking celebrity or something, smiling like a twelve year old.

Nathan pulled away from Haley, "I'm gonna' go change, okay? And, then we can head to Bevin's?"

Haley nodded and smiled before turning around. She hated partying after games, watching Nathan drink, along with everyone else at the party, even Lucas. She just wanted to go back to his apartment, and watch TV or talk.

…

Peyton smiled, "Okay. So…uh…I'll meet you at my car?"

Lucas smiled as he walked towards the locker room, "Sure."

Peyton rubbed her bare arm nervously as she followed the basketball players and cheerleaders to their locker rooms. She really had no clue what she was doing, but when she saw Nathan hugging Haley, she was simply jealous.

She quickly changed in to a short, camoflouge mini skirt, with a dark brown tank top, and slipped on the brown flip flops she had bought yesterday.

She walked towards her car, avoiding Brooke, and met Lucas.

He smiled at her as they drove towards the party and for some reason, she smiled back. He knew how to get to her, he knew how to make her smile, or just what to say when she was upset. He understood her, thoroughly.

Peyton walked in to the already dark house, to see people dancing and drinking. She smiled as she saw Brooke in the kitchen and walked towards her.

"Hey Brooke," Peyton said with a smile. Brooke smiled at her and handed her a red plastic cup.

"What up, P.Sawyer?" Brooke said with a sexy smile.

Peyton sighed, "Bored."

Brooke rolled her eyes, "You just got here. Listen, um…Nathan was looking for you?"

Peyton looked at her, "Why?"

Brooke shrugged, "I don't know he just wanted to talk, I guess. Anyway, Teddy was definitely checking me out at the game. So, I'm gonna' bounce. Later bitch."

Peyton smiled as she leaned against the counter and walked back in to the living room. She felt a hand on her waist, and turned around smiling, figuring it was Lucas.

"Hey. I was just getting a dr-" Peyton began to say.

"I need to talk to you," Nathan spoke, with an angry expression on his face.

Peyton's face fell as she looked around, hoping no one was noticing their interaction in the relatively dark room, "Whatever."

Nathan walked up the stairs and opened a bedroom door waiting for her to walk in before locking it.

"Planning to rape me?" Peyton asked with an amused smile, until seeing Nathan's expression change.

"I forgot. Sorry," Peyton said quietly.

Nathan shrugged, "Whatever. Listen, did you come here with Lucas?"

Peyton looked at him, slightly alarmed, wondering how he found out, "Um..Yeah."

"Why?" Nathan asked angrily.

"Was I supposed to come by myself?" Peyton asked, incredibly annoyed.

"Um. What about your best friend Brooke?" Nathan asked, walking closer to her.

"What about her, Nathan?"

Nathan rolled his eyes as his body moved even closer to hers, "Why the fuck are you here with him? He hurt you, don't you remember? He hurt you so fucking bad, and he hurt Brooke. And, you're going to let him hurt you again?"

Peyton glared at him, pointing a finger in his direction, "Like you didn't hurt me, Nathan? You didn't hurt me once. You were the perfect boyfriend, you know that?"

Nathan snarled, " I thought you-I thought you wanted to be with me!"

Peyton shook her head, "Oh. Like you wanna' be with me? Or, like you wanna' be with Haley?"

Nathan sighed, obviously defeated, "Peyton…"

Peyton sighed, "No. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. It's just…You can't expect for me to be alone, while you're with Haley! How unfair is that?"

Nathan shrugged, "Peyton. He caused problems for us once. I jus-"

Peyton cut him off, as she walked towards him, and placed a hand on his cheek, "Nathan. Don't pretend that everything was perfect before Lucas joined the team."

Nathan nodded as he looked down, "Yeah. I know."

Peyton smiled and kissed him softly, and almost immediately pulled away.

Peyton laughed quietly, "Well, I went shopping today with Brooke."

Nathan rolled his eyes and smiled, as he wrapped his hands around her waist, "Yeah? What's new?"

Peyton raised an eyebrow and pulled away from his grasp, walking towards the door.

"What I'm wearing under this skirt," Peyton quipped with a smirk, as she left the room and walked down the stairs, leaving Nathan with a look of curiosity and an intrigued grin on his face.


	14. Chapter 14

Peyton smiled as she made her way towards the sofa in Bevin's living room and grabbed Brooke's purse off the table. She knew she could find her cell phone so she could call Nathan and arrange plans for later that night. She found a picture and pulled it out, her smile turning to a frown as she ran her fingers over the faces.

Lucas and Brooke. Three words that killed her. She had been so stupid, and if any other person, besides her, had looked at her current situation, they would assume she was being stupid again.

Even more stupid, because now not only were three people involved, but five. Lucas, Brooke, Nathan, Haley, and herself.

She shoved the picture back in to the purse as she felt someone plop down next to her. Did Brooke still love Lucas?

Peyton looked up to see Haley sitting next to her, in jeans and a denim jacket. Peyton rubbed her thigh uncomfortably; next to Haley she felt slightly immoral. Haley was this girl who seemed to be always happy, and the girl who always made the right decisions, and frankly, Haley was the girl who was the virgin. And, Peyton was the girl who wasn't. But, Peyton wasn't a slut either, and almost everyone knew that. She had only had sex with one guy before, and even then, she was in a serious relationship.

Yet, when she sat there in her barely there skirt, and the tank top that that showed off her slender arms and attractive collarbone, she felt even more naked, because she knew that Haley would never dress like that. Peyton sighed, she knew the outfit wasn't slutty, and she knew it had nothing to do with Haley's way too modest outfit, it had to do with the boy who connected the girls. Or, one of the boys who connected the girls.

"Nice skirt," Haley commented with a bright smile.

Peyton nodded, "Thanks."

Haley shrugged, "So, Nathan's birthday party is this Friday…Can you come?"

Peyton nodded, "Oh. Yeah. Sure."

Haley smiled, "I'm sure he'll be happy you're going to be there."

Peyton shrugged, "Wouldn't miss it."

Haley smiled again and smoothed out her jeans, "Okay. So, I'm tired. I'm probably going to go find Nathan and then get him to take me home."

Peyton nodded as she stood up, "Yeah. Good idea. Later."

Haley stared at her, "Are you okay, Peyton? You're acting weird…I ju-"

Peyton swallowed slowly, unsure of what to say. She couldn't tell the truth. There was no way.

She handed the picture to Haley.

"I don't know what to do."

Haley grimaced at the sight of the picture and shrugged, "…What your heart tells you."

Haley waved goodbye to her and went searching for her boyfriend.

Peyton sighed, as she shook her head. Following her heart was the least of her worries.

….

Nathan smirked as he walked up Peyton's stairs, realizing how it felt just like old times.

"_Peyton!" Nathan yelled. _

_Peyton stood in front of her mirror wearing a black bikini, and holding up a green one. _

_Nathan walked towards her, and smirked. _

"_You look hot." _

_Peyton rolled eyes and gave him a fake smile, narrowing her eyes, "Thanks."  
_

_Nathan sighed as he stood up and wrapped his arms around her tiny waist, "I'm sorry."   
_

_Peyton snarled, "Whatever." _

_Nathan softly, "I am." _

_Peyton continued to analyze her reflection as Nathan placed light kisses on her neck, and pulled her body closer to his. Peyton moaned softly as she felt his hands roaming her body, and eventually tugging at the strings that wrapped around her ribcage and neck. _

_Nathan pulled the top off her body and threw it to the floor before pulling the black bottoms off her body. _

_Peyton smirked as she elbowed him in the stomach and grabbed the green bikini off the floor. _

"_Thanks, I couldn't get it off on my own," she said slowly as she slipped the bottoms on and placed the top over her breasts, she brushed her curls off her back and walked towards Nathan, turning around. _

"_Can you tie these?" Peyton asked sweetly. _

_Nathan laughed as he fell on the bed, "Yeah. Right." _

_Peyton sighed, "Aw. Nate. Please. We have to leave."  
_

_Nathan shrugged, "Well, maybe you should be nicer. Karma's a bitch."  
_

_Peyton raised an eyebrow, "Karma? Whoa. Nathan Scott the philosophical man.."  
_

_Nathan shrugged, a smirk forming on his lips, "Yeah. Well, I did some research…"  
_

_Peyton smiled as she felt Nathan's hands on her back, tying the top securely. _

"_On what…" _

_Nathan laughed as he fell on to the bed and Peyton laid next to him, propping herself up with her right elbow._

"_Well, for a book report. And, I thought it would be cool to do it on a book that was on a topic we were interested in…"  
_

_Peyton rolled her eyes as she reached towards her side table and grabbed the anklet in the drawer, "Are you guys doing it on basketball?" _

_Nathan shook his head, "And, I figured we could do it on the Karma Sutra…You know, that book from India with-"_

_Peyton turned towards him and narrowed her eyes, "I know what it is. What is wrong with you? What would you write about that?" _

_Nathan shrugged, "I don't know. Stuff, I guess. It's a book, right? So, I researched it online, and the first thing that came up was like what karma was…and…that whole... 'What goes around. comes around..' thing…Like the Alicia Keys song…"_

_Peyton smiled softly, "That's nice, Nate."  
_

_Nathan shrugged, "Yeah. And, then we went and bought the book. Now, you wanna' know what I think is nice?" _

_Peyton shook her head as she hit his arm and grabbed the denim cut off shorts from the floor as she slipped them on her body. _

"_Okay, so is this cuter than a skirt? Or, should I wear a skirt?" Peyton asked him seriously. _

_Nathan sat up and motioned for her to turn around, "Um. These make your ass look good." _

_Peyton rolled her eyes, "My ass always looks good."  
_

_Nathan nodded, "Yeah. It does. So, whatever's fine." _

_Peyton sighed, "You can never help me. Ever. With anything."  
_

_Nathan shrugged, "Well, the skirts you wear are shorter than any of the skirts i've seen anyone else wear…So…" _

_Peyton smirked as she grabbed her tote bag off of her computer chair and began walking down the stars, grabbing a grey wife beater and throwing it in the bag, "Are you calling me a slut? Or, have you been checking out other people's skirts?" _

_Nathan rolled his eyes, "Shut up."  
_

_Peyton shrugged as she closed the door and walked towards his truck, "That's okay. It's not like I don't check out other guys." _

_Nathan turned his attention to her, "What?" _

_Peyton rolled her eyes, "Just drive."  
_

_Nathan backed out of her driveway and drove to Brooke's house. She was having a "Beginning of Fourth Quarter Pool Party," and everyone knew it was going to be amazing. _

_Nathan turned to her, "Who do you check out?"  
_

_Peyton sighed, "Like you don't check out other girls, Nate." _

_Nathan shook his head, "No. Not really."  
_

_Peyton, "Yeah. Stop bullshitting." _

_Nathan shrugged, "I'm not."  
_

_Peyton shrugged, "Okay. Whatever."  
_

_Nathan smirked, "What do you check out Tim or something?" _

_Peyton laughed, "Um. No. More like… Brad Fisher."  
_

_Peyton bit her lip, that definitely wasn't supposed to come out. Nathan turned to her immediately. _

"_What?" Nathan asked, obviously annoyed. _

_Peyton sighed, "Nathan. He has really nice abs. That's it." _

_Nathan rolled his eyes, "That dumbass has nice abs. Since when?" _

_Peyton smirked, "Since like…sixth grade."  
_

_Nathan snarled as he pulled in to Brooke's driveway and they walked towards her red, front door. _

_Peyton smiled knowing Nathan was angry, over something so stupid, yet couldn't yell at her, because it would make him look like such a jealous jackass. _

_The couple walked through the door and people already swarmed around them. They made their way towards the kitchen, and Peyton found Brooke and Bevin, as Nathan found Tim and Jake._

"_Hey Peyton." _

_Peyton turned around to see a hot brunette with an amazing shag and a gorgeous set of abs, wearing a navy blue pair of board shorts. _

"_Oh. Hey Brad," Peyton said nonchalantly. _

_He was absolutely gorgeous, and incredibly smart. He was the captain of the lacrosse team and Peyton had always liked him. _

_Brad's expression changed slightly as his eyes shifted towards a person walking towards them, and Peyton turned around to find Nathan only about a foot away, and in no time his arm was wrapped protectively around her body. _

"_Brad," Nathan said coolly. _

"_Nathan. Hey, man. What's up?" Brad asked, yet had no interest in whatever Nathan's reply was. Peyton watched as the tension between the two boys increased. Peyton felt Brad's eyes on her body, and looked towards him, seeing that his eyes were analyzing her body and she couldn't help but blush. _

_Brad smiled at Peyton, "I'm gonna' go. I'll uh…see you later, Peyton…Nathan." _

_Peyton smiled softly and could see the anger in Nathan's eyes as she looked up at him. She rubbed her lips together nervously, hoping Nathan wouldn't be mad at whatever little interaction she had just had with Brad. _

_She leaned forward to kiss him, yet it ended quickly when he pulled away. _

"_I guess Brad Fisher thinks you're hot, too. Maybe you should ask him out," Nathan said indifferently. _

_Peyton sighed as she grabbed his hand, yet he pulled it away. _

"_Go put on a shirt or something," he said condescendingly before walking away. _

_Peyton bit her lip as she watched Nathan walk away and sighed. He flirted with other girls all the time, and she never said anything. She narrowed her eyes, who was he to tell her what to do? She unzippered her shorts and threw them in to her tote before walking out towards the pool, walking passed Nathan as she opened the back door. She smiled as she found Brooke and grabbed a beer before talking to Theresa and Brad by the pool. _

"_I'm gonna' go get a drink," Brad said with a smile directed towards Peyton. _

_Peyton smiled back and watched as Theresa followed Bevin towards the DJ. _

_Peyton sipped her beer casually and shrieked as she felt a strong pair of strong arms wrap around her waist and pull her in to the pool. _

"_BRAD!" she screamed laughing as she turned around, catching her breath. Yet, she frowned immediately. _

"…_Nathan..Oh. Sorry. I thought-"_

_Nathan shook his head sadly as sadly, "Sorry. I forgot you were acting like a slut tonight. Forgot that other guys may be all over you."_

_Peyton blinked back the tears and watched as he walked out of the pool, and all she did for the rest of the night was cry. _

Nathan walked in to Peyton's room with a smile on his face that immediately changed after what he saw on her bed. There was Peyton, with a half naked Lucas on top of her. He swallowed slowly and walked quietly down the stairs, slamming the front door shut, causing both Lucas and Peyton to jump slightly.

"What was that?" Lucas asked.

Peyton sighed, knowing exactly what it was, or rather, who it was.

But, this was how she wanted it. She had already hurt Brooke, and there was no point hurting an innocent girl like Haley. And, as much as she hated to do so, she would have to push Nathan away.

"No clue," Peyton said, as she kissed Lucas.


	15. Chapter 15

Nathan rang the doorbell impatiently for the second time and waited for someone to answer the door.

"Nate?" Haley asked surprised, with a smile on her face.

"Hey. Can I come in?" Nathan asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Oh. Sure," Haley said happily as she led him inside the house.

Haley walked up the stairs and Nathan followed, and she sat on her bed and patted the spot next to her.

"What's up? I thought you were at the party," Haley said.

Nathan shrugged, "Yeah. But, it was getting gay."

Haley nodded and was surprised when Nathan kissed her, rather aggressively, before pushing her on to the bed. She eventually relaxed and began to kiss him back, and wrapped her arms around his neck.

He slipped his hand under her shirt, and rested the other firmly on her hip, she grimaced slightly and pushed him away.

"Nathan, wh-" Haley began.

Yet, Nathan cut her off by kissing her, and slowly pulling her shirt over her head. Haley pushed him off of her and stood up.

"What are you doing?" Haley asked, visibly upset, and pulling her shirt back on to her body.

Nathan rolled his eyes, "Trying to have fun. You obviously wouldn't know anything about that."

Haley bit her lip, "Are you drunk?"

Nathan laughed, "Do I look drunk?"

Haley ran her right hand through her hair and sat on the bed next to him, "Are you okay, Nathan? You've been acting really weird recently."

Nathan snarled, "I'm fine. I came over here so we could hang out, but if you don't want to do th-"

Haley rolled her eyes, "Did you come over here to hang out, or so we could fool around?"

Nathan laughed bitterly, "Haley, you and fooling around don't really go together."

Haley narrowed her eyes at him, "Nathan, I don't know if I can do this anymore."

Nathan widened his eyes, "What?"

Haley sighed as she felt tears filling her eyes, "I love you. I do. But, recently you've been having these major mood swings, and I just can't take it right now. Maybe we need to take a break."

Nathan smirked, "Whatever. I get it."

Haley smiled weakly as she wiped her tears off of her face, "So, you're not mad? I mean, maybe even in like two days, we'll be ready to get back together, but for now maybe we need some time apart. I'm so happy you understand, Nate. I'm just not used to depending on someone to make me happy, and now I depend on you, but, you're not happy and-"

"Just shut up, Haley," Nathan said, slightly angry as he walked towards her door.

Haley stared at him slightly startled, "Okay."

Nathan shrugged, "You do know, that if we go on a break, we can see other people. Maybe…_that's_ what we need. Maybe we need to date other people for a little bit."

Haley bit her lip as tears began to fall down her face again, "W-What?"

"Maybe you're right. We need to go on a break, and date other people."

Haley covered her mouth with her hand and swallowed slowly, "..Nathan, did you and Peyton ever go on a break? Do you get tired of your girlfriends after a couple of months. Or, is it just me?"

"Why the hell are you always comparing yourself to Peyton?" Nathan yelled.

"Maybe because I feel like you're always comparing her to me, too!" Haley yelled with tears falling down her face.

Nathan shook his head, "If you're going to an insecure, little bitch, i'm going to leave. I'll see you at school tomorrow."

Haley stared at him, slightly shocked, before walking up the stairs and Nathan closed the door behind him.

…

Peyton walked in to Tree Hill High, dressed in an orange wife beater Brooke had bought her on Friday, and an extremely tight pair of dark, blue jeans. She took two aspirins this morning just to numb the killer hangover she had from the night before. She always promised herself she would never go to a party on a school night, but she always happened to break her promise.

She opened her locker and threw her books in to it, groaning as she heard loud music somewhere near her. She turned to her right to see Nathan putting his books in his locker, his wraparound headphones blasting a song that she wasn't familiar with.

He noticed her staring at him, and turned to her with a small smirk on his face.

"Have fun fucking Lucas last night?" Nathan asked, before turning back to his locker.

Peyton sighed, "I didn't sleep with Lucas."

Nathan nodded, "Right."

Peyton rolled her eyes, "You wanna' know why Luke was over last night?"

Brooke smiled as she walked towards Peyton's locker, "Luke was over last night?"

Peyton froze and stared at Nathan who merely shrugged, "I'm gonna' bounce."

Peyton quickly, "Me too. Later, B."

Brooke sighed dramatically, "Peyton!"

Peyton walked down the hall with Nathan, quickly glancing behind her, wondering if Brooke was watching her. She glanced in to C-234 and noticed no one was in there.

"Okay. Let me explain, Nate," Peyton said, as she sat on an empty desk.

"Do I want to hear this?" Nathan asked with a smile, which Peyton returned, before sitting on the desk next to hers.

"Yes. Nathan, I know we had that little…whatever…for a little bit. Like two days. But, I'm not going to skrew up another relationship. I can't do it. And, I won't. And, more importantly, Haley's really good for you Nathan. She-She changed you. I couldn't do that, and you need someone like that in your life," Peyton said, looking up at him.

Nathan sighed, "Pey-"

"And, last night. I saw you with Haley at the game, and then I talked to her at the party. And, she loves you. And, I knew you were going to come over later on. So, I invited Lucas inside, only because I knew you would see us fooling around. I wanted you to see that, and realize that you had made a mistake with me," Peyton finished.

Nathan shook his head, "I didn't. Peyton, I didn't make a mistake with you. I want to be with you."

Peyton rolled her eyes and smiled, "You changed."

Nathan smiled, " I know. And, now we can make it work now."

Peyton shook her head, "No, Nate. You really changed. You're not the same anymore. You're not the guy that I fell for. You're the guy that Haley fell for."

Nathan quickly looked away from her.

Peyton sighed, "You and Lucas are two different people. And, I liked you both because of that. You were the hot, cocky guy, and Luke was the sweet, understanding one. And, that's the way it was. And, then you met Haley, and you became Luke. And, then Luke met me, and then he became you."

Nathan narrowed his eyes, "What are you talking about?"

Peyton sighed, "Is it wrong for me to say that I liked you better when you were cocky and arrogant?"

Nathan looked at her and smiled, "…I don't know. Is it?"

Peyton shrugged as she stood up, "Nathan, we were different people. And, you've changed. For the better, of course. But, you're not the same. And, it's not that I don't like you anymore, because I do. But-"

Nathan smirked, "Would it make you feel any better if it I told you I was a jerk off to Haley last night?"

Peyton stared at him and smiled weakly, "Being a jerk off to your girlfriend…Sounds like the old Nathan Scott."

Nathan smiled, "Peyton, I understand why you liked me better that way. Because sometimes I miss being that way."

Peyton smiled, "Yeah. Sometimes I miss being a moody bitch, too."

Nathan feigned confusion, "I thought you still were a moody bitch."

Peyton gasped and slapped his chest, "Shut up!"

Nathan smiled at her as he stood up and wrapped his arms around her body, "I'm sorry…"

Peyton laughed as she buried her face in to his chest, "Yeah. Okay. I guess I could forgive you."

Nathan smiled as he looked around the room, "This was the place where we first met."

Peyton smiled to herself and nodded, "Yeah. Detention."

To them, the hug was a friendly gesture, but to the girl watching them through the window on the door, it was so much more. 

The bell rang abruptly and Peyton pulled away, immediately covering her ears.

"Hung over?" Nathan asked, amused as he opened the door.

Peyton nodded miserably, and Nathan laughed.

Nathan smiled as he wrapped his arm around her waist and they walked towards math together.

"What're you doing?" Peyton asked quietly, when she realized people were staring at the former couple.

Nathan smiled at her, "I didn't tell you? I told Haley we should date other people."

Peyton pulled away from him and stared at him slightly, shocked, "You did what?"

Nathan shrugged grinning, "Yeah. Now, we can-"

Peyton pulled away from him, and looked at him sadly, "No, Nate. We can't."

Nathan furrowed his eyebrows, confused, "What?"

Peyton swallowed slowly as she began to choke up, "I-I have to go." 

Nathan's jaw clenched as he shook his head and followed her in to the classroom.

Peyton took a deep breath before walking towards her seat, and setting her books down.

"Hey," Lucas said as he sat down next to her.

Peyton smiled at him, "Luke! Hey. What's up?"

Lucas smiled as he pulled his math book out of his bag, "Last night was nice."

Peyton looked over at Nathan, who was sitting next to Lucas, and knew that he heard what Lucas said.

Peyton sighed, "Lucas, we-"

Lucas smiled, "You want to go out for dinner tonight?"

Peyton bit her lip nervously, and locked eyes with Nathan before turning to Lucas, "Yeah. Sure."


	16. Chapter 16

Mr. Roberts dismissed the class and Peyton quickly grabbed her book and bag and walked out of the classroom.

Nathan turned to Lucas, "Eh. Luke. You have plans tonight?"

Lucas nodded, "Um. Yeah. I'm taking Peyton out tonight."

Nathan's body visibly tensed but then he revealed a smug smile, "Oh. Well, we're all getting together tonight at Tony's. You should come by if you get a chance. Or, you could always just bring her there."

Lucas gave him a nod, "Yeah, man. I'll think about it."

And, they both walked out of the classroom.

…

Nathan stood in his room, getting ready, and Tim sat on the floor, holding a Playstation controller.

"Hold up. So, what's the plan for tonight?" Tim asked, his eyes glued on to the TV.

Nathan grabbed his gel off of his dresser, "We'll meet everyone at Tony's, and then head back here. My parents are out for the weekend."

"Again?" Tim asked.

Nathan grabbed the navy blue button down shirt that was laying on his bed, "I guess. I don't know."  
**…**

Peyton walked around her room, in only her jeans and a black pair, searching for a top to wear.

"This one!" Haley exclaimed, walking out of her closet with a dark green, v-neck sweater.

Peyton smiled as she grabbed it, "Oh lord. Miss. Haley James, Tree Hill's next fashionista. Brooke Davis better watch out."

"Watch out for what?" a cheerful voiced asked.

Peyton and Haley looked up and saw Brooke leaning against the doorframe, grinning at them.

"Can you stop staring now? If anything, I should be the one in shock. P. Sawyer, here you are, practically naked. With Tutorgirl," Brooke added with a laugh, as she hopped over to the bed.

Peyton gave her a weak smile; she had been avoiding her ever since she had found the picture of Brooke and Lucas in Brooke's purse.

"What?" Brooke asked, pushing a piece of hair behind her ear.

Peyton shook her head, "Nothing."

Brooke sighed, "So, are you coming out with everyone tonight?"

Peyton shrugged, "…No. Probably not."

Brooke sighed, "Ugh. Peyton, why not? I could totally use some company, and I expected for you to come anyway."

Haley smiled, "Well, Peyton's got a date."

Peyton turned her head towards Haley and glared at her, Haley bit her lip.

Brooke sighed, "Okay, guys. Girls. Lesbians. Whatever you are. What's going on?"

Peyton played with the green sweater she had in her hands, "Um. I'm going on a date tonight."

Brooke smiled, "Pey, that's great. Anyone I know? Well, first of all…Is he hot? I mean… really hot. Like Nate. Or, even Lucas. Well, maybe not Lucas, be-"

Peyton sighed, "I'm going on a date with Lucas."

Brooke's jaw dropped, very slightly, "Oh. Wow. That's really great, Peyton."

Peyton sighed, "Brooke, if you're not cool with this, then I won't go. I wouldn't do that to you again."

Brooke shook her head slightly, "Looks like you already did."

Peyton's eyebrows raised slightly, "What?"

Brooke shrugged and smiled, "Nothing. Listen, I have to go. Get ready. I'll see you later though. Bye TG."

Haley smiled meekly and gave her a small smile, Peyton watched Brooke leave, and turned towards Haley with a worried expression on her face.

…

Peyton smiled at Lucas as she stepped in to his truck, he was wearing a light blue t-shirt, and a pair of jeans, his hair was longer, which was the way Peyton preferred it.

Peyton smiled at him, "So, are you going to tell me where we're going?"

Lucas turned to her and smiled, and then began to focus on the road again, "Well, it's not anything fancy. But, you'll like it. You've probably been there before."

Peyton nodded, content with his answer.

The car ride was short, but nice. They listened to some music, and talked. Just like they used to, during the whole "Love Triangle from Hell."

Lucas pulled in to the parking lot of Tony's and they both stepped out of his truck, Lucas smiled at Peyton when he grabbed her hand, and she looked up at him, with a small smile.

Lucas opened the door to the restaurant, and Peyton was shocked to see how many of her friends were there.

"…Wow," Peyton murmured softly.

She was confused about the feelings she was having about the Scott brothers. Nathan had been confusing her the most, mainly because Haley was her friend now, and she didn't want to skrew up another relationship. But, she had to admit that she was still incredibly attracted to him, and something about him was different. And, now there was Lucas. Understanding, broody Lucas, who was pretty much Peyton in pants, except, not as moody, and definitely not artistic. And, there was Brooke. Peyton was hoping that tonight would be a night in which she could decide which boy she wanted to be with. Or, if she wanted to be with either of them at all.

Lucas looked over at her slightly worried, "Are you okay with thi-"

"Lucas!" Nathan yelled as he spotted him walking through the door.

Lucas looked over at Nathan and grabbed Peyton's hand, walking towards the large table of people. He knew most of them, and some he had seen around but didn't know their names.

"Peyton!" Bevin called, motioning towards an empty seat next to her.

Nathan watched as Peyton smiled at her friends, and couldn't help but notice how hot she looked. Her jeans clung to her body, almost as if they had been painted on, and her sweater hugged her body in just the right places, with a very low cut neckline, that revealed a lot of her cleavage. Her hair was down, and she was wearing diamond studs, her mothers, with a matching pendant.

Nathan smirked to himself, as Peyton pulled her hand away from Lucas' and walked towards the empty seat, in between his and Bevin's.

Lucas sighed, the only seat available was in between Brooke and Haley's. His eyebrows furrowed slightly as he caught Haley's eye.

Lucas smiled at Haley as he took his seat, "What're you doing here?" 

Haley shrugged, "Brooke invited me. Last resort."

"Not true!" Brooke piped in.

Haley smiled, "No, Brooke. You were my last resort."

Brooke gasped before laughing, and throwing her napkin at Haley, yet instead it landed on Lucas' lap.

Brooke placed her hand on his thigh, and Lucas looked at her slightly confused. And, Haley's eyebrows rose, and she immediately looked away.

"Sorry," Brooke said softly, with a smile, as she grabbed the napkin, her hand brushing against the zipper of his jeans.

…

"So, you're here with Lucas?" Nathan asked Peyton softly, as he reached for his soda.

Peyton rolled her eyes subtly, "Not anymore."

Nathan turned to her and smiled, "Can't be that bad. You're here with me too, right?"

Peyton rolled her eyes, "Did you plan this or something?"

"What? Get Lucas to bring you here, so I could take you back home with me. Yeah, I don't think so," Nathan said, rolling his eyes as well.

Peyton smirked, "I wouldn't come home with you."

Nathan smiled, "Wanna' see about that?"

Peyton rolled her eyes and turned to Bevin with a smile on her face.

…

Lucas looked over at Peyton who was having a long conversation with Bevin.

Brooke grinned at him, "You know, Broody? You and I are quite alike."

Lucas raised his eyebrows, "Really?"

Brooke grinned, "Oh yeah. I'm hungry. And, well you're a boy…You're always hungry."

Lucas laughed at her, his eyes mesmerized by her sparkling, green eyes.

Brooke smirked, "And, you want me. And, I am in the mood for a good fu-"

"Lucas! What're you going to get, man?" Nathan asked.

Lucas looked towards Nathan, and saw him talking to a curvy brunette, who seemed to be their waitress.

"If you guys are just getting pies I'll just share, I guess," Lucas said.

Nathan rolled his eyes, "I guess we have to order one more large pie. Just for Lucas."

Lucas sighed, and was shocked when he felt someone grab his hand under the table.

Brooke smiled at him, "He's not going to be like this forever." 

Lucas looked at her slightly surprised.

Brooke shrugged, "He'll get over it. I mean, I forgave you, didn't I?"

Lucas nodded, puzzled, with a confused smile on his face, and Brooke grinned as she grabbed her soda.

…

"Lucas looks like he's pretty cozy over there with Brooke," Nathan pointed out.

Peyton looked over and rolled her eyes, "Okay. So, you want Brooke now, too? I always doubted you were a player, Nate. But, as always, you like to prove me wrong."

Nathan shook his head and laughed, "You're pretty difficult, Sawyer."

Peyton sighed and smiled, "…It's what I do best."

Nathan grinned, "Well, you give a pretty damn good blowjo-"

"Shut up!" Peyton hissed angrily, throwing him a nasty glare.

Nathan smiled and shook his head, "You know you love it."


	17. Chapter 17

Peyton stepped out of Nathan's car as she walked towards his house.

"So, Lucas was cool with you riding here with me?" Nathan asked.

Peyton shrugged, the car ride was actually really nice, they talked for almost most of the time, and joked about eachother's taste in music.

"He's not my boyfriend," Peyton pointed out, deciding not to tell Nathan that she hadn't actually told Lucas.

Nathan nodded with a small smirk, as he opened his front door, "Yeah. Well…He was with Brooke, that's probably why he didn't mind." 

Peyton rolled her eyes, "Why are you such a jackass, Nate? I mean, I really want to know…"

Nathan laughed as she walked inside, and he followed, closing the door afterwards, "Because it turns you on."

Peyton nodded and smiled, "Oh. Yeah. I love it."

Nathan grinned as she walked further in to the house, and looked around the family room. Everything seemed to be pretty much the same, with the exception of a couple new photographs.

There was a picture of the three generations of Scott's. Well, most of them. There was Royal Scott, sitting down in a chair, with Dan and Nathan standing on both sides of him. All the men seemed happy, but Peyton knew it really wasn't that way, because she was there when the photo was taken.

"I remember that day," Peyton said, turning to face Nathan.

Nathan walked towards her and realized what photo she was talking about, "Yeah. Me too."  
**…**

_Peyton finished applying her makeup, and rubbed her lips together, before throwing the pale, pink lip gloss in to her small bag. She was wearing an aqua blue, halter, cocktail dress, that fit her perfectly. Her hair was down, and she noticed how long it had grown, and played with the curls, debating whether to get a haircut later on that week. _

_She grabbed her purse and headed out the door, locked it, and walked to her car. She stared down at the silver heels, wondering if she should've worn them, now realizing how uncomfortable they were, but glanced at her cellphone and realized that she didn't want to be late, and got in to her car. She had just gotten her license, and her dad had bought her the car. The car she had always wanted, partially because it was the car her mother had always wanted as well. _

_Mr. Scott was throwing a party, almost as a way to kick off the season. Peyton rolled her eyes at the thought, Mr. Scott was incredibly hard on Nathan, so much that Nathan had revealed that he had stopped loving his father a while ago. Peyton smiled when she thought of the night Nathan had told her that, it was one of the nights when there was no one around. And, they weren't just fooling around or arguing, they were actually talking. And, Nathan was letting her in, and telling her personal things. And, when he told her that he didn't love his father, Peyton told him to shut up, simply because she knew what it was like to lose a parent. _

_She pulled in to the driveway and took a nervous breath before walking towards the house and ringing the doorbell. _

_An older man opened the door, he wore an agitated, but warm, expression on his face, and was wearing a navy blue suit. _

_Peyton couldn't help but wonder who the man was and continued to stare at him. _

"_Are you alright?" the older man asked. _

_Peyton shook her head slightly and smiled, "Um. Yeah. Sorry. I'm here for the party."  
_

"_Alright. You're a bit early don't you think?" he asked. _

_Peyton looked towards the driveway and noticed there was only one other car there, besides Nathan's truck. _

_Peyton nodded, "Yeah. Sorry. This is the time Nathan told me to come by."  
_

"_Hey Peyt," Nathan said, walking passed the older man, and out of the house, wrapping his right arm around her waist, and kissing her cheek softly. _

_The older man smiled at the two before stepping to the side, motioning for them to walk in. Once inside the house, Nathan introduced Peyton to the older man. _

"_Peyton, this is my grandpa, Royal Scott. Grandpa, this is my girlfriend, Peyton," Nathan said, while keeping his arm wrapped around her waist. _

_Nathan's grandfather grinned at her, "Now, what's a pretty girl like you doing with my grandson?"_

Peyton looked up at Nathan and smiled, "Sometimes I ask myself the same question."

Nathan's grandfather laughed throatily and Peyton smiled, as did Nathan, after he rolled his eyes. 

_Nathan's grandfather spoke again, "If you'll excuse me, I should probably go see if your mother needs help."_

Royal walked towards the kitchen and Peyton turned around to face Nathan. 

"_He seems nice," she said, fixing Nathan's royal blue tie, after smoothing out his white dress shirt. _

_Nathan rolled his eyes, "Seems."_

Peyton smiled at him and rolled her eyes, "You're always so negative."

Nathan's eyes widened, "I am so negative? What about you?"

Peyton shook her head and smiled, as she kissed him, leaning in to his body, before hearing him groan in pain. 

_Peyton pulled away, clamped her hand over her mouth, "Oh my god, Nathan! I forgot about your arm!"  
_

_Nathan rubbed his left arm with his right hand, and Peyton's eyebrows raised. _

"_Where is your sling?" she asked accusatorily. _

_Nathan sighed, "I'm not wearing it."_

Peyton stared at him, "….Why?"  


_Nathan rolled his eyes, "Because I don't have to."_

Peyton snarled, "Don't be an ass. Why aren't you wearing it?"  


_Nathan shook his head, thinking about what happened three days ago. He had been pushed by a player from the opposing team and fell the wrong way, and had dislocated his shoulder, and because he didn't know it, continued to play for the rest of the game, making it worse._

"_I don't want my grandpa to know, alright?" Nathan asked her, incredibly agitated by her persistence. _

"_Don't want me to know what?" Royal asked, walking towards the young couple. _

_Peyton looked at Nathan, who looked incredibly annoyed and confused, as if he was torn between telling the truth and lying. _

_They both stayed silent and Royal realized that they were hiding something. _

"_Well, don't just stand there, boy. Tell me what's wrong," Royal said, slightly annoyed. _

"_I dislocated my shoulder a couple nights ago," Nathan said, looking at the floor and then up at his grandfather. _

_Royal looked surprised and angry, "DAN!" _

_Royal darted towards the kitchen, and looked for his youngest son. _

_Peyton looked at Nathan who looked incredibly distressed, she grabbed his hand and pulled him up the stairs and towards his bedroom. _

"_Just put the sling on," Peyton advised. _

_Nathan shook his head, "Why the hell would I do that?"  
_

"_So, he knows it's serious. I don't understand why he cares so much?" Peyton asked, walking around his room. _

"_He's Dan Scott's father, Peyton? How the hell did you think he wouldn't care?" Nathan asked her angrily. _

_Nathan adjusted the sling, wincing slightly as he put his arm in place. He looked over at Peyton, and only now realized how hot she looked in the low cut blue dress, her blonde curls bouncing up and down as she bounced on his bed. _

"_Hey," Nathan said softly, as he sat next to her, looking anywhere but at him. _

"_I'm sorry for lashing out on you. I'm just stressed I can't play. And, now my grandpa knows and…I shouldn't take it out on you, and I know that," Nathan said, placing his hand on her chin, getting her to look at him. _

_Peyton tried to remain angry, but her lips curled slightly, forming a smile, before he leaned in to kiss her. _

"_Nathan!" Deb Scott yelled up the stairs. _

_Nathan pulled away from her and rolled his eyes, "What?"_

Deb sighed, "Pictures!"

Nathan turned back to Peyton and kissed her again, but she pulled away, "Nate, we should go down."

Nathan sighed as he stood up, opened the door for Peyton, closing it on their way out.

_They made their way down the stairs, and Peyton saw Deb waiting for them. _

"_Hey Mrs. Scott," Peyton said with a small wave and smile. _

"_Hey Peyton. I'm glad you're here, we're about to take pictures," Deb said, leading them towards the back. _

_Peyton saw the rest of the family sitting in the backyard, Royal, Dan, and an older woman, who she presumed was Nathan's grandmother. _

_They walked to the rest of the family and Peyton stopped walking. _

_Deb turned around, "Peyton, come on."  
_

"_No. It's okay," Peyton said with a smile, realizing that the last time she took a family portrait was the year before her mother died. _

_Deb grabbed her arm tenderly and led her towards the rest of the family. Peyton looked over towards Nathan who shrugged. _

"_Peyton, nice to see you. Maybe you can cover up Nathan's arm," Dan commented. _

_Peyton stared at him slightly confused, and realized that he meant that she could stand in front of Nathan in the picture. _

_Nathan rolled his eyes, "Dad, just back off, alright?"  
_

_Royal glared at his grandson, "Why would you hide that from me? Why would you deliberately keep it a secret?"_

Nathan sighed, and Deb stared at her son. 

"_Let's just take the pictures, shall we?" Deb asked. _

_And, that's what they did. The family took pictures, with Peyton, and Dan took pictures with Deb, and Royal took pictures with Mae, and Nathan with Peyton. There were pictures of Nathan and Deb, and Nathan and Mae. And, the last picture taken was of Nathan, Dan and Royal, after Royal insisted that Nathan take off the sling before the picture was taken.  
_

"You're family is so skrewed up," Peyton said, with a small laugh.

Nathan shook his head, "I know."

Peyton nodded, and realized only now how close they were to each other. He was right behind her, and she swallowed slowly, and felt his lips touch her skin, as he began to kiss her neck. Peyton moaned softly, and slowly turned around, looking in to his eyes before kissing him forcefully.

He smiled against her lips as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her body closer to his.

"Hey guys," a voice called, interrupting them, by the door.

Peyton pulled away from Nathan, but kept her arms wrapped around his neck, "…Brooke?"


	18. Chapter 18

Peyton pulled away from Nathan quickly and opened her mouth to speak, but Nathan cut her off.

"Hey Brooke," Nathan said casually.

"Hey Hotshot. P.Sawyer. What's going on?" Brooke asked with a mischievous smile, walking towards the sofa.

"…Nothing. Alright, I need to go set up some things by the pool. Um, Peyton you want to help me?" Nathan asked, walking towards the back door.

"Um. Yeah. Sure," Peyton answered, avoiding Brooke's questioning and curious stare.

Nathan nodded and lead the way towards his backyard. Peyton closed the door after he opened it and looked at the large pool.

Nathan smirked at her, "We had some fun in that pool, huh?"  
**…**

_Nathan walked down the stairs and answered the ringing doorbell, to see Peyton on the other side of the door. _

"_Hey," Nathan said, opening the door wider to let her in. _

_Peyton nodded, "Hey. Did your parents leave?"_

Nathan nodded as he walked further in to the house, "Yup. Forty minutes ago." 

_Peyton smiled, "So, what do you want to do for the next three hours before we go to Brooke's?"  
_

_Nathan shrugged as he walked further in to the house, "I don't know. But, it's hot as hell." _

_Peyton nodded and looked down at her outfit, a black pair of cotton, extremely, short-shorts and a white beater. _

"_Well, considering that you have a pool…I thought we could go swimming," Peyton said with a wide grin.  
_

_Nathan rolled his eyes, "Peyton. You know I hate going in that pool."_

Peyton nodded, "Yeah. And, I really don't know why."

Nathan groaned, "We're not going to go swimming right now."

Peyton shrugged as she walked towards the back door, pulling off her white wife beater at the same time, leaving her in a deep orange string bikini top and her shorts. 

_Nathan watched her through the windows in his kitchen, as she was standing by the side of the pool, and noticed that she was slipping out of her shorts as well. He sighed inwardly as he realized she was wearing a matching pair of boyshorts. He walked towards the back door and opened it slowly. _

"_Hey," he called out to her as she pulled her hair out of it's messy bun. _

_Peyton looked at him and smiled softly, "Coming?"  
_

_Nathan shrugged, "Nah. It's getting a little dark. And, we have to go soon." _

Peyton rolled her eyes, "Or, you just pretend you're all hard, but you're really afraid of the water." 

_Nathan raised his eyebrows, "Yeah. Alright."_

Peyton gave him an innocent smile before stepping in to the pool, "Do your parents heat it?" 

Nathan shook his head as he took off his grey t-shirt and stepped in to the pool with his red basketball shorts on, "I don't know. Probably not."

Peyton nodded. 

"_You're cold?" Nathan laughed. _

_Peyton narrowed her eyes at him, "…So?"  
_

"_You're the one who wanted to get in to the damn pool," Nathan said. _

_Peyton rolled her eyes, "Why do I even bother?"_

Nathan smirked as he moved closer towards her, "Well, I mean if you're really that cold I can warm you up a little."

Peyton raised her eyebrows and started backing away, "Yeah. I'll pass."

Nathan laughed, "Oh really?"  


_He lunged at her and grabbed her waist just as she was about to swim away. Nathan then pulled her close to him and as she tried to pull away from his grasp. _

"_Why do you even bother?" Nathan asked mockingly. _

_Peyton gasped softly and grinned as Nathan leaned towards her and kissed her neck. _

"_What're you doing, Nathan?" Peyton asked giggling. _

_Nathan smiled against her skin, he loved hearing her laugh, or smile, compared to the usual eye roll or yelling. _

_Peyton eventually wrapped her arms around his neck and he kissed his way up her neck, then her jaw, and eventually made his way to her lips. He then slipped his tongue in her mouth and moved his right hand up her back to the string that tied in the middle of her back, untying it slowly. Nathan groaned as Peyton wrapped her legs around Nathan's waist, and brought her body closer to his._

_He found the string that tied around her neck and pulled it swiftly, pulling it off her body and throwing it to the side. Peyton moaned softly as she felt her breasts rubbing against his body. Peyton tried pushing his shorts off his body with her feet, but eventually he let go of her for a couple seconds and pulled them off himself. _

_Peyton sucked on his neck and felt him pull away_

"_What?" she asked him while out of breath. _

"…_I-I don't have a condom," Nathan said. _

"…_It's okay…" Peyton said, her voice cracking slightly. _

"_You sure?" Nathan asked, looking in to her eyes, as he continued to hold her body close to his. _

_Peyton nodded quickly and closed her eyes as he entered her. _

"God. Don't remind me," Peyton said softly with a coy smile.

"What?" Nathan asked with raised eyebrows.

Peyton grinned and shrugged, "I don't know. I'd say…You don't perform that great in the water."

Nathan laughed loudly as he walked towards her, but was surprised to hear another person's voice.

"Nathan? Can I talk to you?" Haley asked, her arms crossed as she stood a couple feet away from them.

Nathan looked to Peyton who was staring at Haley.

"Yeah," he said quickly walking away from Peyton and in to the house.

Peyton chewed on her lip as she watched Nathan walk in to the house. Yet, turned around too quickly to see Nathan shoot her an apologetic look, and then he realizing she wasn't looking at him.

"Hey," a tall blonde with icy blue eyes called.

Peyton turned around to see Lucas staring at her, "Hey."

"I've been looking for you. I wasn't sure if you came here," Lucas said, shoving his hands in his pockets and walking closer to her.

Peyton nodded, "I came. With Nate."

Lucas' eyebrows raised slightly, "Nathan?"

Peyton shrugged, "You were talking with Brooke. I didn't really want to interrupt."

Lucas sighed, "We were just talking."

Peyton nodded, "I know. But, I figured that if you were having a good time with her, I shouldn't ruin it."

Peyton cringed inwardly, she hated lying, even though she was pretty good at it.

"Alright, well I just want you to know that we were really just talking," Lucas said.

Lucas wasn't sure whether he was trying to convince her that, or convince himself that, either way he was hoping she believed him.

"…Okay. So, you wanna' head inside?" Peyton asked motioning towards the door.

Lucas nodded and they walked towards the door, opening it for her, before walking through. Peyton smiled, realizing that Nathan hadn't done that for her a couple minutes ago. Nathan rarely "behaved like a gentleman" while they dated, maybe in the beginning.

Peyton saw Nathan sitting on the couch in the family room, and Haley was pacing back and forth in front of him.

"Nathan. I'm just-I don't know what came over me. I think I was just stressed. I kn-The last couple days have been really hard. Without you. I just can't live without you anymore."

Haley looked at Nathan with a sad smile on her face, hoping he was feeling the same way.

"Haley, I don't know what to say. I really thought we were going to spend some time apart. To mature separately first, and then maybe try again," Nathan said, surprising himself, along with the other three people listening, with his words.

Peyton's eyebrows furrowed as she sat at the kitchen table eavesdropping on their conversation. Did he just say that they were going to 'try again?'

Haley smile fell slightly, "Oh. Okay."

Nathan nodded as he stood up and was ready to walk out of the room.

"Nathan," Haley called softly.

Nathan turned around and looked at her, and before he knew it, she had pulled him in to a searing kiss that caught him off guard. In a matter of minutes his tongue was exploring her mouth and his hands were running through her auburn hair.

Haley pulled away and bit her lip before smiling at him. He stared at her for awhile, not really sure of what was going on.

"Hey guys," Lucas called out with Peyton by his side.

Peyton had a fake small on her face, and her hand on her hip, Nathan looked at her, not sure as to whether she saw them kissing.

"Hey," Nathan said, scratching his neck.

"So, am I still going to hear Haley complain about not being able to live with you? Or, is that done?" Lucas asked with a slight smirk causing Haley to blush.

"Luke!" Haley gasped, swatting his arm.

"Looks like they're back together," Peyton said with a sad smile, while avoiding Nathan's gaze.

Peyton then leaned against Lucas and kissed him quickly on the lips, causing him to smile as she pulled away.

"Miss. Sawyer, are you rekindling a relationship?" Haley asked, as she wrapped her arms around Nathan's waist.

Nathan instead stared at the two blondes, trying to understand what Peyton was doing.

Peyton smirked at Haley and laughed softly, "I think so."

Nathan's full attention then turned straight towards the curly haired blonde, and she simply stared at him.


End file.
